Julia and I always toss out the idea of a Steal vs Splurge post being more consistent but I drag my feet and never get around to it as much as I would like. Seeing as how the last post was in April it’s perfect timing to bring it back around again. There are a lot of beauty dupe sites out there but that’s not what I’m about. Sure you can always find a color that will be similar to or could replace your favorite color in a pickle. But I want to share the pieces you could save money on. Yes they fall into the same spectrum of beauty dupes but it’s not always something you should save your money on. In my opinion some products are worth splurging on, regardless of the color match.
By now we’ve learned to splurge on sea salt spray, save your money on face wipes, and splurge for blush and mascara. For the summer I’m sharing my opinions on rosewater toners, pore smoothers, eye palettes, lip gloss, bronzer, and charcoal masks. Some of these products are color specific and others are brand specific. Let’s dive in and see what’s worth of spending your money on.
benefit POREfessional vs Maybelline Baby Skin – Sometimes I save on drugstore beauty products like primers and face smoothers. After trying the Maybelline Baby Skin I realized that my money is well spent on the benefit POREfessional. I love the feel and consistency of the POREfessional so maybe it’s psychological. But the Baby Skin didn’t seem to hide or smooth my pores and I felt oilier after the day was over. SPLURGE on this one.
Burt’s Bees Rosewater Toner vs Fresh Rose Floral Toner – Toners are a new thing to me so it took a few attempts to find the differences in these two. I was drawn into the rosewater trend because it helps to soothe and soften your skin, unlike other toners which strip and dry out your skin. The differences between the two? Nothing that I could find. The smell was similar, the application was similar, and the effects on my skin were similar. Take the STEAL on this one and save your pennies.
bareMinerals READY Bronzer in The High Dive vs Burberry Warm Glow Bronzer in Summer Glow 04 – Burberry bronzers are new to me and I do love the texture and application of their products. In terms of color payoff and similarities, The High Dive is the one you should opt for. I can’t say the same for all of the other colors and how they match up, but if they are similar to these two going head to head, then bareMinerals could be your go-to for face colors. Take the STEAL on this one.
Freeman Charcoal & Black Sugar Mask vs Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask – All I have to say on this is take the SPLURGE! I tried the Freeman branded mask on a whim while in a beauty haul at Ulta. I thought for $4.99 it would be worth the spend and maybe I could find a lower priced alternative to the Origins mask. No, just no. For those that like the Freeman brand, keep with it. However, I will spend my money on the Origins version. The payoff is greater with Origins and my skin freaked out with the Freeman version. Make sure you SPLURGE for the face mask!
Urban Decay NAKED Palette vs Coastal Scents Revealed Palette – I’ve used Coastal Scents before and I like some of their products. For the low price point you get a higher quality than most drug store brands. Between these two I think I would still go with the NAKED palette. But the Revealed palette isn’t a bad option if you’re on a budget. The colors aren’t too bad and some are almost identical. If you want the shimmer from the Urban Decay colors then stick with the NAKED palette. For me, I’ll take the SPLURGE on this one.
NYX Sugar Pie Gloss vs MAC Creemsheen in Boy Bait – We all know that I’m not a huge lip color fan. I love to collect colors but I hardly wear them. I had these two colors and tried them out recently since I was on a nude lip color kick. The color payoff is similar. The MAC does wear longer throughout the day but as far as color is concerned, I’d opt for the NYX. Especially since I don’t wear lip colors too often that I feel it’s worthy enough to save. Take the STEAL on this one.
– Jamie of Hello There, Lady!
