Are they dupes? Comparison Swatches and pictures - NARS Outlaw vs Wet and Wild Berry Shimmer

Since good ol' Wet n' Wild brought out its Silk Finish Berry Shimmer blush, there's been a lot of talk about whether that particular WnW color is a dupe for NARS Outlaw. Now, it so happened that I had Outlaw, which I swapped for awhile back, but NARS blushes were breaking me out, so I though I'd get the Berry Shimmer and see if they were really dupes! I totally wanted them to be, and were they?



Click for full sized pic.


Well this photo above makes them look pretty close in the pan. To be fair, they are both definitely in the same colour family - both of them are bright berries that have a touch of dustiness in them. The WnW, however is more of a screaming berry tha, while the NARS is more dusty. And the NARS is more cool-toned than the WnW - it's obviously more blue-based.

Now, for some swatches:





L - R: WnW Berry Shimmer applied lightly, NARS Outlaw applied lightly, WnW berry shimmer applied heavily, NARS Outlaw applied heavily. These were taken in shaded natural light.

Click for full sized pic.

Now, it becomes pretty evident that although they're close, they aren't by any means dupes, like other people have been saying. Sure they're in the same colour family, but there's a definite difference when swatched, as is evident from the picture. While they're both berries, the WnW is a warmer berry, while the NARS is a cooler berry. Also as I've mentioned before, the WnW is brighter, while the NARS is a more muted, 'dusty' colour - of course this is relative, since both the WnW and NARS are pretty bright anyway. Both of them have gold shimmer, so for anyone who hates shimmer blushes, I'm afraid you're out of luck. But I love the way the shimmer is done in both blushes though, it's glowy without being overdone.

So I guess if you wanted a cheap-ass dupe of NARS Outlaw, I'm sorry people, this isn't actually a dupe, but it's pretty darn close. Especially if you're a warm-toned girl. In fact, if you're a warm-toned girl, this might actually suit you better than the NARS, since the NARS is definitely cool-toned, and might wind up looking 'bruise'-like on warmer skin. Outlaw is definitely a color that's better on cooler skin, IMHO, so if you're warm, you've got yourself a deal with the WnW - same berry color with similar gold shimer, just with a warmer undertone. However, if you're really cooltoned, I'm afraid the NARS is still the more $$$$$ way to go.

That's not to say the WnW isn't pretty in it's own right. I totally love it, it's an awesome color, and definitely a must-buy the next time you head to your local Walgreens. I'm just saying as a dupe it isn't a 100% dupe.

And another thing I noticed that might surprise people - Berry Shimmer was insanely pigmented, much more than NARS Outlaw in fact! *Cue gasps of surprise and mood music* For the heavy swatches, I had to dig into my Outlaw to build up the swatch, but the Berry Shimmer heavy swatch was just a few strokes of color! Yes, yes, yes, we all know NARS blushes are so insanely pigemented that very few beat them, but guess what, WnW has decided to load their blushes in the pigment department, and they have come out on top! I myself was very surprised swatching this, because while I've had really good experiences with WnW blushes in the past, this was just totally AWESOME. A skunk will definitely be required for application - don't say I didn't warn ya!

The only gripes I have about WnW are the packaging. The plastic window in the casing likes to come off and dig into the blush (be careful if travelling with it), and the small brush it comes with is really useless. The brush issue isnt a problem for me, since i use my own brushes anyway (which reminds me, I must do a post on face brushes soon), but I'm always worried about my WnW blushes getting all banged up if the plastic window screen comes off. It's not that sturdy for travelling, the NARS has much better packaging in that respect. But then again, it's not perfect either - anyone who has owned a NARS anything will know that that rubber casing likes to attract loose powder and lint, so it looks really dirty after awhile. Wiping it down with a wet baby wipe to remove the gunk built up on it should do the trick though.

I love my NARS, of course - in fact I was wearing Outlaw everyday for a week straight before I started breaking out due to the Isopropyl Palmitate (that's how much I love it), and to a lesser extent the Tocopherol, so I'm always glad to have an alternative that doesn't break me out :) Of course, YMMV, so just because it breaks me out doesn't mean it breaks you out etc etc etc...But I just thought I'd mention it, because so many other bloggers tend to get drunk on the NARS kool-aid and start raving about it, when actually some of the ingredients in their blushes are potentially pore-clogging - it's just good to put it out there. Of course, tons of people wear their blushes and it doesn't break them out - but for the rest of us, there's always Berry Shimmer.