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Everyone's Favorite Blush
Nars Blush in Orgasm, $30
Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro, $7.49
The Breakdown:
Ask any beauty junkie to recommend a good blush, and more often than not she will tell you to try Nars Blush in Orgasm. The gold-flecked, warm pink blush is just the right shade to look equal parts natural and glamorous. But as much as I love the healthy flush of Orgasm, I do live on a budget. So when the blogosphere kept pointing me to Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro, I had high hopes this would be a perfect drugstore dupe.
While the two products look very similar in the packaging, on my face, the Milani blush was tawnier than Nars Orgasm and looked more like bronzer than blush. Not wanting to give up quite yet, I also tried the Milani blush in Corallina (too bright) and Dolce Pink (too cool-toned). Thus, I'll be keeping my Nars blush (and trying to make it last as long as humanly possible).
The Winner:
Nars Blush in Orgasm
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Full-Coverage Foundation That Feels Like a Naked Face
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, $59
L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 17, $10.95
The Breakdown:
When you crave more coverage than a serum foundation can deliver, it can be challenging to find a formula that goes on smoothly and doesn't look cakey. By the end of a long day, most foundations look heavy and packed onto my skin.
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is a cult classic, because its weightless texture truly feels like silk. It's a lightweight, breathable foundation that I can build or use less of, depending on how much coverage I want. Its drugstore beauty counterpart, L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Makeup, also applies smoothly and ultra-light, but is easier to blend and buff onto my face. As far as packaging, Armani Luminous Silk wins out, thanks to its product-conserving pump. The L'Oreal foundation simply pours out of a screw-cap bottle. While both lightweight, oil-free foundations are impeccable products, only L'Oreal True Match contains SPF (a must-have in my book).
The Winner:
L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 17
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Look-At-Me Lashes
Dior Diorshow Mascara, $25
Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara, $8.49
The Breakdown:
By and large, Dior Diorshow Mascara achieved cult classic status with its massive, one-of-a-kind mascara brush. The extra large applicator simultaneously lengthens and adds volume to the point where I can only describe my eyelashes as "fluffy." To this eye, Revlon's brush looks identical, and gives lashes the same effect as a pair of falsies. The real difference here, though, is the formula. Both mascaras go on phenomenally, but the Dior formula is much creamier than the stickier Revlon formula, which, by the end of the day, made my lashes brittle.
The Winner:
Dior Diorshow Mascara
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For That "Week in St. Kitts" Post-Vacation Glow
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Light, $36
Rimmel London Natural Bronzer in Sun Dance, $4.99
The Breakdown:
In a single swipe, I can tell whether a bronzer has any of my three deal breakers: It's too brown, too orange, or has too much shimmer. With that "I've just returned from the islands" natural summery glow, both of these bronzers passed all three tests. The products lasted on my face all day without breaking into splotchy patches, and both have just the slightest amount of glimmer to warm up the complexion.
The Winner:
It's a tie. The tortoiseshell packaging on the Estee Lauder product is so pretty I leave it out on my vanity to display, but the Rimmel product is comparable for a fraction of the price.
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To Hide Your Sleepless Nights
YSL Touché Éclat Concealer in Luminous Radiance, $40
The Body Shop Lightening Touch Concealer in 04, $14.50
The Breakdown:
Concealer is concealer, said no one, ever -- which explains why, even with its $40 price tag, one YSL Touché Éclat concealer is sold every ten seconds. Its ability to make dark circles and fine lines disappear has made Touché Éclat a "Holy Grail" product. My favorite shade, Luminous Radiance, is best for fair skin with slight pink undertones to it.
The closest match in The Body Shop concealer dupe is 04, which is more shimmery and lilac-based (similar in color to Benefit High Beam). The lighter shades of both concealers wake up my tired eyes and make my whole face seem more awake. But the shimmery Body Shop concealer calls attention to the lightness beneath my eyes and sinks into my fine lines, rather than camouflaging them.
The Winner:
YSL Touché Éclat Concealer in Luminous Radiance
You fall head over heels for a $58 BB cream that leaves your skin soft, dewy and impossibly clear -- and you're quite sure there's no other product in the world that will make you look so youthful and radiant. So you do want any beauty-product-obsessed girl on a budget would do: splurge on another bottle and eat ramen for the next week. No matter how much you love a product, it can be hard to justify the price tag, especially on day six of shrink-wrapped noodles. While there truly are some magical beauty products out there for which there is no substitute, plenty of expensive department store beauty products have a drugstore doppelganger that works just as well -- and for a lot less money. We road-tested every popular beauty dupe on the market to find out which high-end beauty products are worth the splurge and which ones you may want to reconsider.
