MAC Waterweight Foundation and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water: Dupes and Similar Products

MAC's Studio Waterweight Foundation SPF30 is the latest foundation from MAC, and it has been getting tons of raves online for its lightweight, water-like texture. However, the foundation really made its way onto my radar because I was asked by my colleague at work whether I was going to review it or not. After sheepishly admitting that I probably wasn't (not because I don't want to, but because I'm already backlogged on my reviews), she told me that she had heard that it was a dupe of a Smashbox foundation, the Smashbox's Camera Ready BB Water SPF30. So I just had to check it out!

MAC Studio Waterweight Foundation SPF30 vs Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF30: Dupes or not?

Of course, the ingredients nerd in me was piqued by this. Certainly this wouldn't be the first time a product has had a dupe, and is hardly surprising to me. In my 5 years of blogging, I've encountered beauty dupes for everything from brush-washing tools to colour-changing lipbalm to face creams, so nothing fazes me. But it is interesting to see a product being duped so early into its release.

Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water: A new Smashbox product, rumoured to be a dupe for the MAC Waterweight Foundation (Source)

Turns out, as you might guess, the MAC Waterweight Foundation SPF30 and Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water SPF30 are indeed extremely close, if not identical. But I wanted to find out more - what if there were other similar products out there? So began my journey into ingredient nerdiness.

Chanel Graphite Dupe Search: Comparisons with OPI and Face Shop

Chanel's Graphite nail polish, one of their Fall releases, has been making the waves, with its stunning shade and foil finish. I suspect part of the hype is just that it's Chanel - few brands just have that je ne sais quoi that cause such a frenzy everytime something new is released.

As usual, I ooh-ed and aah-ed over the new Chanels, but was less keen on the price point. So I swatched Chanel Graphite next to other existing polishes I already had, just to see whether I really needed it or not. *Sighs* Oh well, what's a girl on a limited budget to do?

The first polish is OPI Brand New Skates. Now this has been established by other bloggers to NOT be a dupe, but I thought I'd just swatch them side by side for anyone who was still curious about the differences between the two.



L - R: Chanel Graphite, OPI Brand New Skates, Chanel Graphite, OPI Brand New Skates

Both OPI Brand New Skates and Chanel Graphite have the same greyish, slightly green leaning base, but the shimmer in both polishes is totally different, despite the same base colour. Chanel Graphite is obviously a lot more blingy - the foil finish is very strong, and the foil glitter is very dense, while Brand New Skates isn't a foil - it's more of a grey-green base with dispersed gold/bronze/silver glitter. Also very pretty, but not a dupe.

Another difference is that OPI Brand New Skates is really sheer. What you see applied is 3 coats of medium thickness. Graphite, on the other hand, is fully opaque in 2 coats.



L - R: Chanel Graphite, OPI Brand New Skates, Chanel Graphite, OPI Brand New Skates

Brand New Skates is a gorgeous colour, to be sure, it isn't a dupe. Perhaps for someone who liked the base colour of Graphite but not the foil finish, Brand New Skates may be a better pick. For me, the best part of Brand New Skates is that I got it for a cool S$8 from my friend Luna in a blogsale, so to me, that's a total steal!

The next polish that I thought looked similar to Chanel Graphite in the bottle was a really random Face Shop polish I had purchased sometime back. This is The Face Shop's Face It! nail polish range, and the colour is GR502. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I'm ashamed to say I've only worn it once! Here's a comparison with Graphite:

L - R: Chanel Graphite, Face Shop GR502, Chanel Graphite, Face Shop GR502

Since I wasn't really expecting the Face Shop one to be a dupe, I was surprised to see that it was actually quite similar to Graphite! Granted, they aren't exact dupes, but they are pretty close. Both Graphite and GR502 have the same green-grey base that looks a little olive in certain lights, and both have that intense gold foil.

The only difference is that Chanel has a more intense foil finish than Face Shop. This difference in foil finish is more obvious in some lights than in others - in stronger lights, GR502 looks quite convincingly similar to Graphite, but in low lights, it doesn't. The photo above shows the two in sunlight, where they look similar. The photo below shows a shot of both in lower lights, where you can see the difference in foil finish.



L - R: Chanel Graphite, Face Shop GR502, Chanel Graphite, Face Shop GR502

So although Face Shop GR502 isn't a dupe for Chanel's Graphite, I do think they are close enough to kill my very expensive Chanel lemming. And for our ladies in Asia, this is so much cheaper, and more accessible too. If I remember correctly, in Singapore the Face Shop Face It! polishes are around S$8 or so, making them less than a third of the price of Graphite.

If all three of them were the same price, though, I'd spring for Graphite in a heartbeat, just because it's the bling-iest of the lot, and you know I love me some bling on my nails! But I guess since I'm not willing to pay exorbitant prices for bling, I'll have to settle for the lesser blinged out alternatives, and just wait until the drugstore brands put out their dupe versions. Are you a dupe-lover? Or would you prefer to spring for the original?

Lancome Miel Glace vs Jelly Pong Pong Brazilian Sun: Dupes or Not?

Having a makeup stash as large as mine, every now and then there are products that look pretty similar. In my recent ravings over the Jelly Pong Pong Brazilian Sun bronzer, I couldn't help but notice that it was actually quite similar to Lancome's Blush Subtil in Miel Glace.

Now for those of you not in the know, Miel Glace is one of Lancome's more celebrated blushes, and is a classic as a nude blush - you know, the type of blush you wear when you want some colour on your cheeks, but don't want it to be obvious.

Here are photos of both blushes side by side. Don't they look similar?



And here are the products swatched beside each other. As you can see, they are actually quite similar, although Miel Glace is a blush, and Brazilian Sun is a bronzer.



Although they are similar, there are still some differences between the two. Miel Glace has more shimmer than Brazilian Sun. However, the base colour is actually quite similar, although I think Lancome's blush pulls a little more ruddy than Jelly Pong Pong's bronzer.

So which one would I recommend you get, if you only could pick one? This is a tough choice, really. I guess it would boil down to whether you want to use it as a bronzer or a blush, and whether you'd want to apply the product over your body, or just the face. If you intend to use it for the entire body, I'd probably opt for the Jelly Pong Pong version, since you get 19g of product, versus the 5.1g of blush you get in the Lancome compact. However, the packaging (big paper tub) of Jelly Pong Pong's Brazilian Sun might make it harder to use than the Lancome's Miel Glace, which comes in a more accessible compact. I guess ultimately, it would be about packaging and price.

(Jelly Pong Pong product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Dupes or Not? Rock and Republic Kinky Vs Evil Shades Backtalk

Finding dupes in my stash always produces mixed feelings in me. Sometimes, it makes me happy, (Yes! That limited edition shadow has a permanent dupe!), sometimes it makes me sad, (What, did I just spend double the amount of money for two of the same product), and sometimes it just makes me incredulous (What?! You mean that expensive overpriced thing has a cheap dupe!?). In today's case, I'm feeling incredulous. And you'll see why.

Just take a look at these two blushes. They look pretty much the same in the packaging, don't they? Looks like they might just be dupes. And this is why I'm incredulous - the blush on the left is the cheap and cheery Evil Shades blush in Backtalk, while on the right is the ridiculously overpriced Rock and Republic blush in Kinky.



I know what you're thinking - wait, you mean that cheap indie Evil Shades brand has a dupe of that expensive Rock and Republic blush? Sure does look like it, doesn't it? When I saw these two side-by-side in my stash, I almost wanted to kick myself for having shelled out the money for Rock and Republic Kinky. I mean, sure, I did get it when it was on sale, but still... I felt vaguely cheated.

I consoled myself by saying, well at least there's some difference - Kinky is entirely matte, while Backtalk has some fine gold shimmer through the blush. So they're different enough to own both. I swear the fine gold shimmer in Backtalk is there, my camera is just having problems picking up the shimmer. I promise I didn't invent it to make them seem different and make myself feel better!



Anyway, the only sure way to know if something is a dupe or not, is to swatch both products side by side. So I did, and here we are:


L - R: Evil Shades Backtalk, Rock and Republic Kinky

Here you can see that they are close - very, very close - but they aren't absolute dupes. For one, as I've previously mentioned, Backtalk has non-obvious fine gold shimmer throughout the shade, while Kinky is matte. Also, Backtalk is a hair more neutral in undertone, probably due to the gold shimmer warming up the colour, while Kinky is a bit more blue-based, and thus cool-toned. But these differences are pretty minute, and I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between them if they were worn sheerly on the cheek, except perhaps for the shimmer.

So, which one should you get, if you decide you don't want two almost-dupes in your collection? Well, I guess it would depend on your brand and price preference. Some people love Rock and Republic blushes, while some people love good prices, and that may be enough to sway a purchasing decision. But if you prefer a blush that's a bit more shimmery, then Backtalk is a better choice. Also, I feel like Backtalk's more neutral undertone would suit it better to a wider range of skintones, so if you aren't cool-toned, Backtalk would probably look better on you. They aren't perfect dupes, but I'd say you probably only need either of the blushes. (Although as a blush fiend, I still insist on keeping both!)

Dupes or Not: Bobbi Brown Galaxy vs Prescriptives Smoking Gun

Ahh, discontinued and limited edition products. Aren't they the bane of every makeup fanatic's existence (other than overpriced shipping)? Just when you think you've fallen in love with something, you inevitably find it's been discontinued, or limited edition, or both, and unavailable. And then you have to scour Ebay for it and pay exorbitant prices. I don't know about you, but it happens to me pretty often. Darn Murphy's Law.

So in honour of "Nyah-here's-a-taupe-you-can't-have" day (okay, I just made that up), here's a comparison of two discontinued taupe cream eyeshadows. They pretty much appear to be dupes.

The two taupes in question are Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in Galaxy, which was a hot favourite when it first came out, and Prescriptives Colorscope Eyeshadow in Smoking Gun, which was discontinued because Prescriptives shut down. And Prescriptives just shut down just as I was getting into its line of concealers and foundations. Murphy's Law, I tell ya.



L-R: Prescriptives Colorscope Eyeshadow in Smoking Gun, Bobbi Brown Long Lasting Cream Shadow in Galaxy

From my swatches, you can see they're obviously dupes, colour-wise. They both are gorgeous. They have the same steel grey base infused with brown, and then overlaid with dense gold shimmer to form the most beautiful, shade-shifting, duochrome taupe the world ever saw. Oh yes, you know I love this baby.

But other than the colour, the pigmentation is what separates the two. Galaxy is a lot sheerer than Smoking Gun. I did a couple of swipes for each swatch, and you can see that while Smoking Gun is opaque in two swipes or so, Galaxy is still rather wimpy on my skin. I definitely prefer Prescriptives when it comes to pigmentation, although I'm sure some others will prefer Bobbi Brown's more muted version.

In terms of staying power, both are excellent. Neither the Prescriptives nor the Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadows budge. They pretty much stay on the entire day for me, without smudging or fading. Both also have the same texture, although I think Galaxy had a slightly more slippery, emollient feel, probably due to the addition of silicones.

So if you're a discontinued taupe-hunter, and you only want one, which one should you get? I guess since staying power and colour are the same, the only determining factor would be pigmentation level. While I'd personally prefer Smoking Gun, if you're one of those people who prefer sheerer shadows, Galaxy might work better for you.

Rock and Republic Spank vs Stila Bud Blush: Dupes or Not?

While plumbing the depths of my makeup stash, I noticed that two of my blushes looked eerily familiar. One was a blush I've raved about before, Rock and Republic's Spank, and the other was Stila's Bud blush, which I had and liked at one point in time, but forgot I had over the years. Oops.

Both appear identical in the pan, and to be sure, they are from the same colour family - both are muted, everyday, go-with-everything neutral pinks.



L-R: Rock and Republic Spank, Stila Bud

I was curious to see if they were actually dupes or not, so I swatched them side by side. I think they're pretty close, although they're not absolute dupes. But they are close, though, so very close.



L-R: Stila Bud, Rock and Republic Spank

They're pretty much the same, but Spank is a little bit brighter than Bud, and also perhaps a little bit more cool-toned. But they are both muted neutral light pinks, so the similarity is pretty slight. I guess when you actually wear the colours on your cheeks, they're not going to look too different.

Quality-wise, both were good, although the Rock and Republic was more pigmented than the Stila, and also had a smoother texture. I'm not saying the Stila isn't good though, because it is, but Rock and Republic is better.

So which should you get, if you can only get one? Well, given that both colours are relatively close, I'm going to frame this as a quality vs price thing. Rock and Republic has the better quality, but Stila has the cheaper price. Both are good though, so at the end of the day, your choice could end up being decided by your budget.

Rock and Republic Seduce, MAC Flirt and Tease, First Light Cosmetics Sundowner: Dupes or Not?

Since First Light Cosmetics is currently having a 20% off promotion for OFAF (Of Faces and Fingers) readers, I thought some comparison swatches would be in order. The last time I featured First Light's blushes, I mentioned that there were some very similar colours for a higher price, and that Sundowner could potentially be a dupe for some of those.




Here's what I dug up from my makeup stash for comparison - the much vaunted and raved about Rock and Republic Seduce, the one-with-the-fangirls MAC Flirt and Tease, and First Light Cosmetics Sundowner. All three of these were powder blushes, and they were in the same colour family. All three are plummy blushes with a hint of brown - a bit overwhelming to look at in the pan, perhaps, but lovely if applied with some caution on the skin. And yes, I do think fair girls can wear these colours too! (I'm NC20, and these happen to be some of my favourite shades.)

Anyway, enough with my gushing about plummy blushes. On with the swatches:



L-R: Rock and Republic Seduce, First Light Cosmetics Sundowner, MAC Flirt & Tease

Now, first off the bat, you'll notice that these are very similar. Very, very similar. They aren't 100% dupes for each other, but I guess once worn it's a little difficult to tell the difference. But there are some small differences.

The first small difference is that Sundowner is a lot more shimmery than either Seduce or Flirt and Tease. It doesn't have huge glitter bits, but it's more light-reflective than either the Rock and Republic or the MAC colour.

The second tiny difference is Sundowner is more plummy and rose in colour, while both Rock and Republic's Seduce and MAC's Flirt and Tease are more brown. But as you can see in the photo, the difference isn't very great.

The last difference is that of pigmentation. Rock and Republic had the best pigmentation, while MAC was the least pigmented. Now before I get lynched by all the MAC fangirls for even daring to suggest that MAC can be less pigmented than another brand, let me offer an olive branch by saying that Flirt and Tease is a Sheertone colour, anyway, so it isn't meant to be super-duper pigmented. It isn't sheer by any means, though, and you can definitely build it up to the level of kabuki clown cheeks, but it is a little sheerer than Seduce and Sundowner.

So, are all three blushes dupes for each other? Colour-wise, I think the Rock and Republic and the MAC blushes are more similar to each other than the First Light Cosmetics version. So if you want the closer dupe of Seduce, then Flirt and Tease is the one to get, even if it's a tad sheerer. But they're all similar enough that I can't tell you which one to pick definitively - it's going to depend on your brand preference (high or low end?), budget (cheap or expensive?), and other preferences in terms of form (loose powder blush or pressed powder blush?), pigmentation (more pigmented, or less?), and colour (more red, or more brown?).

Orly Galaxy Girl Dupe: Maybelline Vanishing Venus 350

Orly's Cosmic FX Collection has made waves with its unusual duochrome colours, and one of the colours in the range was Galaxy Girl. It's a deep vampy burgundy red with hints of green shimmer. Unfortunately for Orly, who had hyped up its collection to be unique (and jacked up the price to $10 per bottle along the way), bloggers have been finding dupes for most of the colours in the range for cheaper.

Now the presence of dupes doesn't detract from the awesomeness of the colour, and truth be told, Orly's collection DOES have really killer colours, but for those of us who can't spend US$10 on a polish, having the option of cheaper alternatives is always a draw. Maybelline's Vanishing Venus happens to be a cheap - and pretty good - dupe. Unfortunately, it's also been discontinued for awhile, so if you want it, you'll have to do some hunting around for this somewhat ancient polish.

Here's Vanishing Venus. Isn't it awesome? I know the texture on my middle finger is a bit weird, but that's because there's a teabag wrap on that nail. That, AND I dinged my middle by mistake while the polish was still wet, and I have neither the patience to re-do the nail, nor the image editing skills to edit it out. Oops.



I think it is quite a close dupe for Galaxy Girl, even if it's not 100% identical. It's also a shimmery vampy burgundy red, and it kind of looks like dried blood. (Hehe.) And it also has that awesome green flash, and the same kind of fine shimmer. I love it. It's a gorgeous colour. And that green flash. It sort of reminds me of RBL's Scrangie, only that this one is a blue-green flash in a burgundy red base, instead of a green-blue flash in a blurple (blue-purple) base. Few nail polish colours have this type of shimmer nowadays, so it's pretty cool for Orly and Maybelline to have something like that.

Here's a closer shot of my nails (and of said teabag wrap):



Application for this one was pretty darn good. Maybe it's one of those ancient non-B3F polishes (Big 3 Free meaning free of toluene, formaldehyde, and DBP aka dibutyl phthalate), because it has this really thin yet smooth application that is reminescent of those non-B3F polishes. Which is a good thing - it means it doesn't apply thick and goopy, yet isn't streaky because it's too thin. It applies in nice even but thin layers, and is easily built up for opacity. Of course, I've no way of knowing if this really is B3F or not, but it sure applies like one, and it's probably old enough to be one as well, which might be an issue for some users who may want to avoid non B3F polishes.

Anyway, this colour is gorgeous. If you don't mind potentially running the risk of using a non-B3F polish, I'd recommend this. If you do mind the fact that it might possibly contain one or more of the "Big 3", then the Orly option might be a safer (if more expensive) bet.

OPI Jade is the New Black Dupe? Asos Paints by Ciate Pixie

Of course, we've all been looking at pictures of OPI's upcoming Hong Kong collection that will be released in Spring, and while I was browsing the gorgeous pictures of many a beautiful finger, a thought suddenly struck me - Jade is the New Black looked hauntingly familiar. In fact, it kind of looked like something I already had in my stash, and that was released in Winter!

Ooh. Just goes to show you that these types of emerald-jade slightly dustied jewel greens are awesome and chic year round, be it Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. Anyway, regular readers of this blog will probably be able to guess what I was talking about, because awhile back, I posted bottle pics of potential-dupe-in-question here. But of course bottle pictures are inconclusive. And as it so happens, I've actually used it for a mani since then!

Behold, a potential dupe-or-not for OPI's Jade is the New Black. Maybe it's not a dupe, but it's definitely in the same family, or if not, a close neighbour. From what I could tell based on other bloggers' swatches, the main difference is that Pixie is a little more blue-toned, while the OPI is more yellow-based. I do think they are close though. I only wish I had the actual OPI colour so I could do a side-by-side comparison. But anyways, this maybe-it's-a-dupe-maybe-it's-not isn't too shabby either. It's cheaper (for the UK ladies, that is), it's beautiful and creamy, it covers in one coat (although I used two out of habit) and it's none other than Pixie, from the Asos Paints by Ciate Winter Collection!

Observe it's beauty, in natural light:



And here it is indoors:



Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I had to pair it with $OPI's Run With It, a beautiful, albeit streaky and sheer, silvery grey, and I konaded over the ring finger with Pixie, using Konad plate M57 (I think. I'm bad at remembering which plates I used).

Anyway, can I just sing the praises of Pixie again? Oh Asos and Ciate, you have done it again. Beautiful, pigmented, creamy, good texture, and very smooth creme. Unfortunately, it's let down by a brush that likes to skip and make application not as great as it could be. Which is really unfortunate, because the formulation of this was near perfect, and it was a shame that it was let down by the brush.

I also really liked Pixie, because it is something of a chameleon, colour-wise. Indoors it leans a little blue, and sometimes I swore it looked rather teal on my fingers. But outdoors, it looks most mostly green. And this isn't a wimpy mint-jade green (haven't we had enough of those already?) but it's a much sexier, much more sophisticated, much more chic older sister of those green wannabes. It's deep, but not too deep, and it's a mix of emerald and jade colours, and is bright but still a little dusty, making it eyecatching but still very wearable. And of course it likes to tease me by being bluish and teal sometimes.

So OPI, don't say I didn't warn ya, but you have competition! I only wish I could get my hands on OPI Jade is the New Black to do a side-by-side comparison!