NEWEST AFFORDABLE "DUPES" BETTER THAN HIGH END???!! i strongly disagree..

One of the most cringy things I see when I am watching Tik Toks or other dupe videos is when people use the word dupe for everything just because the packaging is similar. It's like you get a dupe, you get a dupe, you get a dupe. And so I am someone who's very picky, who thoroughly tests formulas. So I'm going to tell you whether or not compared products are actually dupes. So, I took some of the most popular makeup items at the drugstore slash more affordable price point and I'm putting them head-to-head up against their high-end expensive counterpart. So, I have some items that I've seen people comparing. I have some items that reminded me of other items that I want to see. And we're just doing some good old dupe busting. As someone who's really picky and someone who does not like to use the word dupe lightly, I'm going to be telling you whether these are actually dupes, if they're actually alternatives instead, which I love me a good alternative, or if they're unrelated at all. So, if that sounds good to you, let's get into it. When ColourPop somewhat recently came out with their newly reformulated brow boss gel, everything about it reminded me of my all-time favorite Rare Beauty eyebrow gel. And I definitely think they were trying to dupe the Rare Beauty. And as I should, because the Rare Beauty is simply the best eyebrow gel on the market. As somebody who is very very disobedient of brows, one of the things I commend the most about the Rare Beauty Brow Gel is how much I love the spoolie and how it separates the brow hairs like no other in a way that makes the brows look thick. And I got excited because the ColourPop is kind of the same thing, but they have very different price points because the ColourPop Brow Bus Gel is $9 and the Rare Beauty Brow Gel is $21. So, a little over double the price. We are going to start off with my tried andrue Rare Beauty eyebrow gel. I know this like the back of my hand. Now, I've already given you my final thoughts as to what I think of the ColourPop Brow Boss Gel and how I think it compares to the Rare Beauty, but I have to admit, I've never put them side by side, and these sidebyside experiments are so much more powerful. I can tell you what I think is different, but can I show you what is actually different? So, that's the point of this video, to get a good split face going so I can truly show you side by side what is different about these products. But what I love about the Rare Beauty is how it separates my brow hairs and makes my brows look much more thick. And it also holds my brow hairs like this all day. I very happily pay full price for the Rare Beauty eyebrow gel. It's one of the few items that I stock up on every Sephora savings event. And you know what? This spoolie does a fantastic job of separating the brow hairs just like Rare Beauty. I feel like the Rare Beauty formula is a little bit thicker. So, it gives my brows more body when I am brushing it out. And I just feel like the Rare Beauty, I don't know if it's a formula, if it's the spoolie, even though they look the same, it just guides my brow hairs better. This one, I feel like I have to put a little bit more pressure. Like the brows are looking good on both sides. So, I'm seeing that I'm really having to spend some time redirecting the edges of my brows, which I don't need to do so much with the Rare Beauty. Now, I've said I do think the Rare Beauty has better hold that the ColourPop my brows do fall. So, we are going to see about that today. I'm going to let these set and dry. I'm going to pluck the stray hairs and we'll see. Okay. So, as these have sat, as I've plucked my brows, I just kind of feel like the ColourPop is lifting off my skin just a little bit more, whereas the Rare Beauty side, it stays pretty pasted. That said, though, the ColourPop brow gel, not bad at all. It just needs a little extra supervision. I think that the ColourPop is a great alternative. That said, as someone with more stubborn brows, brows that kind of like to fall down, I still personally would invest in the Rare Beauty, if that tells you anything. But if you don't have unruly brows, I do think you'll like the ColourPop. So, the official label is alternative. This next side by side is more so for my own curiosities because these launched around the same time, very different price points, and I haven't been able to really verbalize exactly what is different. So, a situation like this is perfect to test them out. L'Oreal wasn't trying to dupe this product. They just came out at the same time, so they're commonly compared. I am doing the L'Oreal Infallible Cushion Foundation versus the YSL Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation. The L'Oreal is still quite a pricey foundation at $19.99, but the YSL is $49. So, over two and a half times the price point. And I've enjoyed both, you guys. Even though I really do strongly dislike the applicators that these come with, so many of you guys are like, "You have to use it that way." And I do see the difference. The product goes such a long way when you apply it this way, but h it is so much more tedious. And you see it just isn't as smooth. You really have to go in and correct your work here. But I have enjoyed both of these cushion foundations. And I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly what is different about the two, which I really want to do given the difference in price point here. So, the YSL offers a true I want to say medium coverage. And you can see it does have this really pretty subtle glow to it. All right, L'Oreal next. I think the L'Oreal might have more of a matte finish. Oh, 100%. And I wasn't going at these two because I thought they would be dupes of one another. I just wanted to see what was different. So, while this is like a dupe busting video, it's also me comparing things that I wanted to compare because they're similar or they launched at the same time or they look kind of similar, but the L'Oreal definitely is more of a matte finish, soft matte. It's not sucking the life out of my skin whatsoever. YSL has a very obvious glow to it that stood out with first touch of the L'Oreal. And sometimes it takes putting them side by side to be able to tell the true difference. Yeah. So 100% not a dupe. 100% not even alternative. They're just completely different products. And the reason that I even put these side by side because I know the claims online say something similar is because I've been using the L'Oreal all over my face with glowy bases underneath. And this is a base that it kind of goes with whatever primer you're using. So, if you have more of a glowy primer, the glow will show through, but I didn't put on a primer today, so you can truly see the difference of both products. I think the YSL might give just a little bit more coverage. But this is a great example of glowy versus matte, because you can see how the more matte side hides my pores and stuff much better, whereas with the YSL, it's showing, but I would fix that with powders. I have seen a lot of people say these are dupes and I've never put them side by side, but one of these I like and one of these I don't. So, we're going to see what's going on here. And these are two very, very different price points. The Essence Silky Blur concealer is $5.99 and the Hourglass Vanish Concealer is $39. So, by all rights, the Hourglass should perform a lot better. But I don't love the Hourglass because I feel like it's too heavy on my under eyes and it causes my under eyes to really crease very easily. The Hourglass always starts off with a very good application. So, I'm going to be, you'll see, very happy with this. But, it's about how it wears. I feel like it's quite heavy on the under eye. You really only need a little bit, but it blends in really nice and buttery. I'm not knocking that. It's the wear time, so I'll have to do the long wear comparison today. Okay, that blended in really beautiful. It's full coverage, really buttery, but I'm telling you, I just love the Essence. It seems maybe slightly thinner than the Hourglass. Just comparing them side by side. I feel like the Essence might even give a little bit more coverage even though it's just a little bit more thin. I love this Essence concealer. This is the absolute best concealer at the drugstore. Yeah. And I feel like it's blurring my under eyes in a way that the Hourglass isn't. So, it even looks different just on application. My under eyes look more blurred with the Essence. I mean, the Hourglass at this point looks and feels really beautiful on the under eyes as well, but the Essence looks even better and more blurred. And I think based on previous experience, the Essence lasts better. But I'm going to have to check that today. So, Hourglass is a bit more creamy, a bit more thick. It feels a little nicer to apply. The Essence is a little bit thinner, but I think gives a little bit more coverage and is more flattering on the under eye. I think that Hourglass might spread onto the face more pretty. I mean, these do remind me of one another. I see why people compare them like, but I don't want to call them a dupe and I don't want to call them an alternative. I just want to say just get the essence. The essence is better. So, they're similar. I would say probably alternatives, but don't buy the alternative. Buy the essence. Anyways, I'll pin a comment if the wear time is anything crazy different. But yeah, I the people saying they're dupes is weird, but the essence is better. Okay, the next product that I have is liquid bronzers. I haven't heard really anybody call these dupes, but they very obviously ColourPop. I see where you were doing. It was obvious. This is the ColourPop liquid bronzer versus the Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Bronzer. It's the second time ColourPop is coming for Rare Beauty in today's video. Now, the ColourPop liquid bronzer is $10. The Rare Beauty is $30, so three times the price. But I do want to give a call out on the amount of product differences. The ColourPop has 27 oz, whereas the Rare Beauty has 5 oz. So, the Rare Beauty, you literally get twice the amount of product. So, like this is really, if we had the same amount of products, this is really $20 and this is really $30. So, they're closer than you would think. I'm using the shade Melo from Mirror Beauty, which this for a while was one of my all-time favorite bronzers. I mean, this bronzer, I see why ColourPop is trying to dupe it because it is incredible. It's not fully pigmented. It shears out when you blend it, which makes it easier to blend. It has this soft powdery finish and blend onto the skin. You can't over apply this as you can see because it just melts into the skin with that soft lightweight kind of powdery dry down. I mean, I love this. I'm using the shade West Beach, which is slightly cooler in tone. And you know what? I think that this ColourPop bronzer is really nice as well. I think the Rare Beauty blends slightly easier, but honestly, these kind of give dupe to me. There's very subtle differences. I The Rare Beauty does blend out a little bit easier for sure. It's almost more sheer whereas the ColourPop is more concentrated and it takes just a little bit of extra effort to blend it out. The Rare Beauty also kind of blends farther on the skin, whereas the color is much more concentrated when blended out with the ColourPop. A little goes a longer way. With the Rare Beauty, they're similar formulas. They are kind of a dupe, but the Rare Beauty is better. So, I'm going to say there are alternatives, but the formulas are very, very close. I still prefer the Rare Beauty formula, though. if I'm being honest, especially since this is technically $20 and this is $30. There's not that much of a difference. Both are fantastic though. So, not a bad alternative at all. And I mean, kind of looking at my skin now here in the closeup, the ColourPop I think blended a little bit nicer today, but I do think that that is because of the more matte foundation, whereas the Rare Beauty slid a little bit more, but I think that's because of the glowy foundation. Anyways, super duper close formulas. This I haven't heard anybody compare, but I wanted to compare the first everything balm compared to the Jones Road Miracle Balm. Now, I don't actually think that these are going to be dupes or even alternatives, but I wanted to be able to voice the differences between the two products because Verse was definitely inspired. I want to say at least with like the marketing claims, things like that. The verse is $15.99 and Jones Road's quite pricey at $38. But when you do calculate the weight differences, listen, the $15.99 verse balm only has 6.5 g of product, whereas Jones Road does have 50 g. So, not quite 10 times the amount of product. So, actually the Jones Road is a better price. But I think with Verse, you need a little bit less product on the face, so you'll get farther with your wear. But let's see. I mean, Vers is a more true balm. These are absolutely different products. I just wanted to be able to tell you the differences, and I wanted to compare them because similar idea, but I think Verse just did a better job. I think the Verse is better. The Jones Road Miracle Balm is definitely more thick and balmy. And look at the complete different textures. Yeah. Okay. Verse is very very different from the road. I'll give the road Oh my gosh. Not the road, the Jones Road. I've done a few Jones Road products videos on my channel. And I don't I don't love all of the products from Jones Road. In fact, there's a number that I really don't like. And I always get comments like, "This is for mature skin. This is m for mature skin." It's for all skin, by the way. They have literally young models on their advertisements. It's okay that I don't like it because this is so sticky on the face. And I don't care if you're old or young, it's sticky on the face. But you know what? The Miracle Balm today is looking nice. I think if you have a really, really dry cheek day, this is going to feel nice and hydrating on the skin. But what reminded me of the Jones Road was the verse because I do feel that this is hydrating on the cheek as well. To me, verse kind of looked at Jones Road and did everything that I would have done differently. There's more pigment. You need less. It's hydrating on the cheeks, but it's not goopy, sticky, or anything like that. Just completely done better all around. They're not dupes. They're not alternatives. They're similarly advertised balmy products. But again, Jones Road, you do get you do get a lot a lot a lot a lot more product, but I'd still pick the verse over the Jones Road because it doesn't feel sticky on my face all day, but it's still going to give that hydrated effect. You get more pigment. I mean, I know there are some people that swear by this miracle balm. Sorry, they're getting our recycling outside. But I think the verse, it's a little less skincare than the Jones Road, but it still hydrates the face and cheeks all day, and I think it's a little bit more versatile as a color cosmetic product. If you like the Jones Road for the skincare element, keep using it. This is one that I've been wanting to go side by side. You can actually only purchase the dupe, but I've been talking about how much the E.L.F. Set it bright loose setting powder. Reminds me of my beloved RIP Givon Prism Leap Powder. If you don't know the lore, the Givven Sheep Powder was absolutely amazing, beloved, had a cult following. Then they reformulated it and added a glow to it and absolutely destroyed it. And then E.L.F. came out with this, which obviously was a play on this. They have more similar colors to the E.L.F. I just happen to have the more pink one, but it doesn't matter. You can only get the ELF. And I've been saying the E.L.F. is one of the closest dupes of Givveni, but like I want to put them side by side to confirm. The E.L.F., not that it matters, is $12. So, it is a lot more affordable. The OG Givvon GI, well, right now the illuminating one is $64. So, I mean, huge, huge price difference. I like don't even want to waste this use right now. The Givvon She is so precious to use, but let's do it, you guys. I like it because it has more body. I think it has more body than the E.L.F., but the E.L.F. is really, really beautiful, you guys. So, and as I'm getting older, so my under eyes are getting more wrinkly. Like, I'm even liking the Jivvon She better than my Huda Beauty. my hood of beauty. I feel like lately it's almost so thin that it's showing some wrinkles a little bit more on the under eyes than it used to. This Jivvon She doesn't, but like this is it. This is my one and only. This is my last one. But this is an incredible powder that had a cult following for a reason. So yeah, obsessed with this. Let's see how the E.L.F. compares. I have different colors, so do keep that in mind. Going to flip my sponge. I'm just so salty about this. But the E.L.F. came did such a good job. The shade is also a little bit more bright. Like, okay, E.L.F. is not anything to snuff at. This powder is pretty incredible. It's not quite as buttery as the Givveni, but it does a fantastic job of the blur. I think that the Givveni melts into the skin a little bit easier. And then the E.L.F. might be sitting on the skin a little bit more than the Givoni, but for that price difference and because the Givveni is no longer, this is real good. I stand by after doing a side by side, my original statement that the E.L.F. is about as close as it's gotten to the Givveni and it's a little bit lighter weight. The ELF is the Givveni melts in just a little bit more, but like thank god we got the ELF. We got something something a little bit closer. Like ELF is closer to the OG Givveni rather than the Givveni reformulation is. So if the Givveni was still available, I would say it's an alternative, but since it's not literally a dupe, okay, it's a dupe. I'm saying it. I'm calling it. This next one is not an affordable alternative at all. They're actually the exact same price points, but I wanted to compare them because look, I needed to do a side by side experiment. RMS took some inspo. I see. I already know these are different, but I wanted to see it in the flesh. Truly, this is the RMS Redimension Daily Glow palette versus my beloved Dior backstage glow maximizer palette. Both $55. Let's swatch RMS Beauty first. This is the new one that just launched, but this is with a very popular formula. RMS, they sell really well with this blush formula. I don't know about the highlight formula, but this line of powders for sure. All right, these just feel more silky. They're a baked jalet formula and just looks more fine on the finger. Look at that. Looks more wet. These are not going to compare. No, no, no. I mean, the Dior looks so much more wet. It has more glow. Get the Dior if this is what you're into. Of course, get the Dior. The RMS, I also feel like just from previous uses, it's more powdery. And you can kind of see the powder, at least in person, sitting on the skin a little bit more. It looks a little bit more dry. It doesn't blend in as nicely. Sorry, but I had to confirm that side by side. I just hadn't gotten the chance to do that yet, so I thought I'd do it on camera. But beautiful, the best. And this is on top of the icky sticky Jones wrote. And it's just still applying like butter. That butter just Yeah. I mean, this is one of the best highlight quads ever of all time. Like if you're starting your makeup collection, building from the ground up, like this is what you need to purchase if your house burns down. Like that's what I would buy. Okay, that was really sad of me to say, but you you get the idea, right? Okay, it's almost all your makeup collection. Look, where is it at? I'm digging into the product. It's much more soft, which might be your jam, but you know what? You could apply a lighter amount of the Dior as well and build it up if you want more. Okay, the RMS is more subtle, which you might prefer. And then the Dior is going to give more of that metallic wet gleam. Again, you might prefer the softer powder nature of the RMS. But me and my preferences, if I'm spending $55 on a highlight palette, the Dior is also going to look much prettier on the eyelids. Like every everything about it. Sorry, they don't even compare. The RMS does look a little more flattering on the cheek if I'm to be honest, but I want this. So, I'll definitely continue to use the RMS. Like, it's not a fail of a highlight palette at all. It's just so similar to the Dior. So, I'm like, why use that when I already when I already have my beloved Dior? So, that's just me. This dupe I've talked about before, but I wanted to show you in the flesh. I wanted to show you a dupe for the Urban Decay Moondust eyeshadows because I think this is incredible. Beauty Creations has duped Urban Decay with their solo shadows. I don't have an individual Munda shadow palette. I just have this broken up Mundust shadow. So, we're going to make it work. But an individual Urban Decay eyeshadow is $25. And these Beauty Creations are only $4.99. So, I'm going to compare Space Cowboy from Urban Decay with the Beauty Creations Cowboy era. So, let me show you Space Cowboy first. Beautiful, slick, and thin. Now, the the Beauty Creations is more of a thick formulation as you can see. So, it's more truly powdery, and there's beauty in both of these formulas, right? The Space Cowboy from Urban Decay is going to be a little bit more slick and delicate, whereas you're going to get more boom with the Beauty Creations, which might be what you want. Let's put on Space Cowboy from Urban Decay first, which this is their signature color. Very, very popular. It's taking a little bit of building up, but once built up, it's really pretty. It's definitely more fine and more delicate. Gives more of a sparkly effect, whereas the Beauty Creations is going to give more of a glitter, but there's a lot of shades that both Urban Decay and Beauty Creations have. So, I definitely think there are going to be more crossover shades. And then this is Beauty Creation. So, it's more glowy. It's more glittery. It has more of a base color. It does need to be pressed into the lid because it can be a little bit more messy than the Urban Decay. The Urban Decay is a lot less messy if I'm being honest. They're different glitters for sure. Beauty Creations give a lot more vaoom. Urban Decay has that more sophisticated, yes, I would say sophisticated glimmer to it. But I don't know, $25 for that Urban Decay shadow versus $5. Personally, I'm going Beauty Creations. I do have a little more fallout as I've blended it out with Beauty Creations. So, there are some trade-offs. They are different formulas, so it does depend on what you prefer. But Beauty Creations, I've called it a dupe. I guess it is truly more of an alternative, which is why it's good to go side by side. The formulas are quite different. But like I said, Beauty Creations has a lot more shades as well. Not all of them are quite as pigmented and thick as this one, but definitely an alternative, but also five times less. So, you can decide there. I still am just as enamored and just as in love with my Beauty Creation shadows. All right, let's move on to the lips. So, this one is the only one that I can't do a side by side, but I did want to share that these Milani Keep It Full Plumping Lip Liners remind me a lot of the Too Faced Lip Injection Plumping Lip Liners, and the Milani are only $11.99 and Too Faced is $25. The Too Faced burns. I really hate that. So, I feel like these are the better version because they burn less. And neither of these products plump the lips, by the way. They're just dumb, useless, burning sensations, but I like the Milani colors better. And I feel like the Milani lasts longer than the Too Faced. They actually either I misplaced or I got rid of the Too Faced, but everything about these like these have redeeming qualities despite the subtle plumping sensation. And these are the better version of them if I'm being honest. So, I can't do a sideby-side to say if they're dupes or alternatives. But I will say if you do want a plumping lip liner, go with these. And even without the plumping sensations, these are great on their own because the colors are so beautiful. So, even though I couldn't do the side by side, I still wanted to share those cuz those are a great alternative that I wanted to share with you guys if you were into that whole it's a trendy thing now. I'm going to use the shade twice a spice from Milani, which is my favorite shade, probably my most used. I also do really like Go All Pout for a rosy lip, but Twice as Spice is just a little bit more neutral. And these have a pretty nice glide, but you still have control. Like I said, great wear time. Very subtle plumping sensation. So, you will feel a little kick with this product, but it's just impressive how long these lasts as well. So, I recently posted an Ulta haul and I was talking about how luxurious the L'Oreal lipsticks feel and they remind me a lot of the Charlotte Tilbury Kissing formula, which is my all-time favorite formula. So, I wanted to go headtohead with these. Now, the L'Oreal Color Ree lipsticks are $12.49 and the Charlotte Tilbury Kissing Formula lipsticks, $37. And I mean, the packaging from L'Oreal feels really nice. I'm impressed. And I absolutely am obsessed with the shade. I definitely need to get more from the range. These do have that scent to them, if you know what I'm talking about. The Charlotte Tilbury has a subtle, more vanilla scent. L'Oreal has that classic powdery scent, but this shade fairest nude is unreal and it has that really nice pretty glow. And I picked a couple shades that it reminded me of. I don't have like a dupe by any means, but I feel like it's a more neutral version of Pillow Talk Fair from Charlotte Tilbury, which obviously is a little bit of a brighter pink, but they serve a similar purpose on the lips. And then I also have Nude Kate, which is my favorite nude from Charlotte Tilbury. Obviously, it's much more peach. But I just wanted to compare the shades. So, Fairest Nude from L'Oreal, Pillow Talk Fair from Charlotte Tilbury, and Nude Kate. I will obviously compare these two side by side today. So, let's do Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Fair on this side. Now, the Charlotte Tilbury has actually a little bit more drag and a little bit more stick, but I do think that does help with longevity. For me, Charlotte Tilbury is always going to be my favorite lipstick formula, but the L'Oreal absolutely has qualities that it reminds me of. So, Oh, yeah. Very, very similar. Obviously, the colors are different. And I feel like with L'Oreal, it's much more pretty like a neutral mauve shade and undertone, which I really like. I feel like that's so unique with the L'Oreal color, which is why you should get the L'Oreal color. But Charlotte Tilbury has a stickier feel to it, which I think does help with longevity if you're somebody that can't touch up often. but they both give that really pretty glow to the lips and you can even see that in the swatches which is why they remind me of one another. So, I'm going to say that the L'Oreal is a fantastic alternative to the Charlotte Tilbury kissing formula. That said, this is a lipstick formula that can stand out on its own. If this formula were in a different tube on the luxury market, I would still say I love this lipstick. So, this is definitely a range you want to look into. They also have absolutely gorgeous colors. Some of their finishes in this range do look a little cheaper to me. But whatever shade this is, fairest nude. I mean, this is luxury right here. You wouldn't even be able to tell. Tell me you guys, is there a side that you like better? Honestly, there isn't one side that is obviously better than the other side. Even though one side costs a lot more than the others, I think I provided you guys with a lot of options where I feel like the affordable side actually I prefer over the more expensive side and vice versa, of course. I mean, the idea behind these videos is to go head-to-head with commonly compared products and help you decide which one you think is the best option for you. You know, as somebody who's really picky with the formulas, I can give you an insight, and you can decide what makes the most sense for you, where you want to splurge, where you want to save. Maybe you already have one of these products, and you want to see how the alternative would perform compared against that. I have a lot of fun with these, and I'm honestly, this one was an interesting one to see some of these products compared. A lot of these that I picked were pretty self- serving because I wanted to see how they compared, but I think, you know, doing these side-by-side comparisons are what takes me and my content to the next level to give me that extra set of education. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this video and found it helpful. Let me know how you thought the products compared. And I will see you guys in the next one. Bye, guys. Have a good one.