High-end Beauty Dupes

Today, I’m talking about some of my favourite high-end products and their drugstore dupes.  I have a real weakness for high end makeup, and I love treating myself on payday, who doesn’t?!  However, I also really love the more purse friendly brands and there is nothing better than having a bit of a spree in Boots picking up four or five shades of lipstick for the price of one luxury shade!

The drugstore brands have really upped their game in the last few years and the quality of their products rival their high end counterparts; I’ve picked out some of my favourites today that are more than a match for the luxury versions, and perfect for those times when you need to save a few pennies!

First up there is the Barry M Chisel Cheeks palette, which in my opinion is an excellent budget friendly dupe of the Anastasia Contour palette. Obviously the big difference here is that the Barry M palette has only three shades, however they are very much like the contour shades in the Anastasia palette and the highlight shade is really similar too. There is such a similarity in the quality of these two products; the Barry M one is a bargain at £6.49 and the pigmentation and colour it gives is identical to the Anastasia one. 

Next, there is L’Oreal Infallible 24hr Matte Foundation, which is a £8.99 dupe for the popular Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation. These two have very similar consistencies and provide medium buildable to full coverage, and I find that there is very little difference in them. They both feel lightweight despite offering good coverage, and both have a matte finish; I actually find it really difficult to tell these two apart so if you’re looking for an alternative to Double Wear then this is definitely it!

MAC Velvet Teddy has become an iconic shade thanks to Kylie Jenner, and luckily for us there are now a whole bunch of dupes out there to choose from. My personal favourite is Velvet Beige by Maybelline, which is very similar in colour but without the totally matte finish. The finish is semi matte, but it feels much more hydrating. I sometimes find that MAC matte lipsticks can be a bit drying so Velvet Beige is a perfect alternative.

Next, I’ve found Maybelline The Nudes palette to be an excellent dupe for The Balm Nude’tude palette, which I’m really pleased about as it is only £9.99! The Balm Nude’tude is an amazing selection of shades which are of such a high quality that it’s hard to think of any drugstore brand coming close to it, but The Nudes is a good second place as the shades are deeply pigmented and very similar in colour. Another bonus is that the eye shadows in the Maybelline palette are slightly larger than the ones in Nude’Tude, so you really are getting more for your money and without compromising on the quality. 

Lastly, lip pencils. I recently noticed that NYX lip pencil in the shade Mauve is an almost exact match for MAC Dervish, but for a fraction of the price. NYX Mauve is easy to apply, it goes on smoothly and the well pigmented colour creates a fuller lip look just as well as the MAC one does.  The NYX one is a shade darker than Dervish, however when applied there is no noticeable difference in the two and it is easily blended depending on how strong you want it to look. 

So there are my favourite drugstore dupes! There are so many more out there that I could have included, but these ones stand out to me as the best and biggest money savers. I hope you enjoyed reading, and also found some new products to check out!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Sarah is the author of Simply Sarah, a UK beauty and lifestyle blog. Sharing reviews of both high-street and high-end beauty products with handy swatches, lots of tips and a perfect dash of personality, Simply Sarah is a fab all-round read. You can also find Sarah over on Twitter @SimplySarahLou5 and Instagram @SimplySarahLou89.

Sarah is one of my fab guest bloggers helping me out whilst I settle into life as a new mum. I hope you enjoyed Sarah's post, it's definitely left me lusting after more NYX products! Do you have any favourite high-end beauty dupes?