The Best Drugstore Makeup Dupes
I am known to spend WAY more money on my makeup and skincare products than I do on my clothing and handbags. Hello, my new fave Amazon sweater while wearing my pricey Elemis marine cream moisturizer and Tom Ford lipstick! People prioritize different things when it comes to their looks, and that’s okay. So today I am sharing with you my favorite Drugstore Dupes.
Even though I don’t mind spending a bit more on my makeup, I definitely have clients and girlfriends that don’t feel the same and always ask me for a budget option to my prestige products. I can 100% appreciate wanting to look like a million bucks - but not spending a million bucks! Lucky for them, I usually have an affordable alternative to my cult favorites/holy grails that you can get away with!
I know that drugstore brands have come a LONG way. And that sometimes, their prestige counterparts only SEEM better because of extravagant packaging and insane marketing budgets! Yep, there I said it!
Here’s the fun part! Just so you can see how close these dupes are I am about to share - I have applied all of the prestige products to the left side of my face and their drugstore gem on the right side of my face. I’ll be interested to see if you can truly tell a difference between them both!
So keep scrolling to see my ‘splurge’ favorites and their ‘save’ twin sisters that are great alternatives and totally worth adding to your collection if you’re a budget conscious beauty love.
TL;DR
Jennifer shares the best drugstore makeup dupes
Jennifer's product recommendations are shoppable via text links and image widgets
The Best Drugstore Makeup Dupes
Bronzing Drops
The D Bronzi drops have become a sensation and sell out quicker than anything I’ve seen in recent years. The warm hue suits everyone, and the shimmer is glowy enough without looking like a disco-ball. My cute little 1 fluid ounce bottle of the Drunk Elephant has been on its way out. And as luck would have it, Pacifica Beauty was kind enough to send me a PR box with a similar version that has just launched, called Sunny Glow. The packaging was very similar, same fluid ounce product, and the application was pretty darn close. With the Pacifica being a bit more pigmented (and like $22 bucks cheaper). So, I just thin it out with my moisturizer and boom - that extends the life of it! Winter calls for a warm “where’d you get that glow from?” and these are the answer to that, no powder bronzer needed.
Holy Grail: Drunk Elephant D Bronzi Sunshine Drops, $38
Dupe: Pacifica Sunny glow Bronzing Drops, $16
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Foundation
I love everything about the It Cosmetics CC nude glow cream. The coverage is luminous and lightweight, gives my dry dehydrated skin a dewiness to it thanks to its glow serum included. But when I heard about the L’Oreal line of Age Perfect foundation specifically made with mature skin in mind, I was intrigued. Yes one is labeled a CC Cream while the other labeled a foundation, but the finish and coverage literally feels almost identical. And the L’Oreal also has a radiant hydrating serum included, plus the SPF is a bit higher at 50.
Holy Grail: It Cosmetics CC+ Nude Glow with SPF 40, (light/medium) $47.
Dupe: L’Oreal Age Perfect Radiant Serum Foundation with SPF 50, (warm beige 55) $16
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Matte Eyeshadow Palette
Not everyone wants or will use all 12 colors in a shadow palette. I get it. However I like the options! One of my trusted matte palettes of all time is the Tartlette with the perfect mix of warm and cool neutrals. But if you want the similar shade range (minus 2 colors) this e.l.f. one is a pretty great option! And dare I say, the pigment factor is literally identical between the two!
Holy Grail: Tarte Tartlette Amazonian Clay palette, $45
Dupe: e.l.f. Nude Mood Mad for Matte palette, $10
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Liquid Blush
As I’m aging and my skin continues to dry out, I’m becoming more and more of a fan of liquid blushes for that realistic rosy cheek look. I own 3 different shades of the mega popular Rare Beauty blushes. They are exquisite and you only need literally one or two dots to get the amount of pigment you want and the staying power is amazing! But when the SheGlam blush enters the room at under $10, we have some competition! What gets me besides their very similar finishes, is the applicator on the SheGlam is superior IMO. It’s super soft dome applicator makes it so easy to dot on and smooth!
Holy Grail: Rare Beauty Soft Pinch liquid blush, “Joy” $23
Dupe: SheGlam Color Bloom liquid blush, “Rose Ritual” $7
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Eyeliner
I love the inkinesss and the soft application of the Laura Mercier pencils. They draw on like a dream. But guess what, so do the Pixi pencils! When I drew them next to each other, I was shocked that I had not realized how similar they were until now. Both easy to manipulate, smudge, and sharpen, yet have great staying power. Now that I’ve realized this, I’ll be switching to more of the Pixi pencils bc eyeliners is a category I’d prefer to save on. Other shades from them I own and love are the “Black Blue and Black Cocoa.”
Holy Grail: Laura Mercier Caviar tightline eyeliner, “tuxedo,” $28
Dupe: Pixi Beauty Endless Silky Eye pencil, “Black Noir” $12
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Lipstick
I do get that a luxurious squared -off heavy lipstick case is somewhat thrilling to pull out and apply. And this popular shade “Casablanca” by Tom Ford is the ultimate dark warm pink with a gorgeous satin finish that seems to flatter most skin tones. But the almost $60 price tag IS a hard pill to swallow. But because I love this Tom Ford shade so much, I had to search for a dupe. And guess what, I found an EXACT dupe - not even exaggerating. This L’Oreal shade in “Nu Authentique” couldn’t be closer! I need to add like 6 of these dupes to cart (bc that equals only 1 of the TF) so I can always have backups! (I applied the Tom Ford on my upper lip and the L’Oreal is on my lower btw)
Holy Grail: Tom Ford Lipstick, “Casablanca” , $58
Dupe: L’Oreal Nude Intense “Nu Authentique”, $9
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Lip Gloss
Fenty’s “Fenty Glow” has become an iconic universally flattering warm rose nude gloss with tons of shine. But the NYX butter gloss in “Bit of Honey is quite an impressive dupe. Both are very pretty and hydrating without a sticky feel, making the drugstore alternative an absolute steal.
Holy Grail: Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Cream in “Fenty Glow, “ $22
Dupe: NYX Butter Gloss in “Bit of Honey” $6
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The rest of my outfit details, (since I rarely show you below the neck- ha!) but I just love my simple but chic outfit so I had to share: Amazon Striped Rib Pullover, $45 (so comfy and well made! I’m wearing a small - oversized) | Amazon Silver cuff ring, $14 | Similar silver triple hoops, $7 | My Sam Edleman Layla Sneakers I’m obsessed with how very comfortable they are! I get compliments on them all the time - Wearing the black/white combo, $97 | My Impress-on white fingernails, shade Frosting $7
What do you think of how close these dupes look compared to their prestige counterparts?? Not bad right? I have so many more dupes, so let me know in the comments if this type of post is something you’d like to see more of.
In Case You Missed It
Yesterday, Beth and Kelly shared casual Valentine's Day Outfits. Click the title or image below to read the article.
I love the dupes posts especially as some of the lux products you feature are so much more expensive in Canada. So more of that please! Also, can you do a post on nail care and the types of artificial snails? I had acrylics but I needed to have them off for a surgery and now my nails look horrible. I’d like to try press ons but I have nightmares of the old 70s style like Lee Press Ons!
glad you liked this one! I wear the ImPress nails ALL the time and they’re nothing like the old school Lee Press Ons – way more advanced. The glue on ones stay longer, but the sticky tab ones are way easier to apply and if they pop off there are back up nails in the box. And I keep a nail glue handy also to re-glue. But they look AMAZING like salon type nails!
Jennifer, love these dupes! More, please!
You got it Cathy! I have plenty to share so maybe this will be a once a month or every other month post!
OMG I couldn’t tell the difference. Thanks for sharing your “Finds”
I was even pleasantly shocked with how similar they were too when I had applied them side by side! Thank you Susan for the comment
Thank you, Jennifer. I always find your posts to be helpful. I would love to see some dupes on skincare for mature skin.
that’s so wonderful to hear SC lady and I think a skincare specific dupe post is a GREAT idea! Thank you for that!
This was so helpful and fun! Thanks for doing all the research. I will definitely be buying some of these great dupes!
you’re welcome Pam! please let me know in future posts if you end up trying any of these
Loved this post. My mother was in the business a short while and always laughed that the most expensive and the cheapest usually came out of the same vat. This post I’ll bet was very popular. We should definitely have more!
Thanks-
you are definitely right that I’ve heard the same thing that many drugstore and dept. store brands are made in the same factories or at least owned by the same brands. I’m glad you liked this comparison post! I’ll def be doing more in the future
The “dupes” are amazing but then you make everything look good. Thanks for sharing.
well you just made my week Violet with this super kind comment – thank you for being here!
Exactly what I needed! Thank you so much, going into Sephora or Ulta is very intimidating for this minimalist makeup wearing gal! Now I can use your list and feel confident!
This is EXACTLY what I like to hear Kerry when it comes to me creating posts like this – I want all of you to have more confidence and fun with makeup shopping and application!
Great post, Jennifer! I love experimenting with different colors and types of makeup, and trying out a cheaper dupe certainly helps my budget.
I think most of us LOVE a good budget makeup product that performs like a prestige! That way we can spend more money on other items – like expensive groceries!!!
Thank you Jennifer for your Dupes. I am making a list. Please do this again.
you got it Barbara! this might need to be an every other month repeat post!
Yes, Jennifer, I would love to see more posts like this one. Thank you! I always get so many great tips from your posts!
wonderful to hear Nancy B! please keep coming back every Saturday for more tips!
Great post! Thanks Jennifer
thank you Jes for taking time to comment!
Enjoyed this post! I also like when you share what you are wearing. I loved the Free People blue cardigan! Unfortunately they were sold out of my size
I wasn’t certain anyone cared about my fashion choices, ha! so this is good to hear Danielle! I’m sorry about the Free People cardigan – it’s amazing how quickly some items do sell out even though they’re in stock when I write them just a week out!