“Dupes” are taking over the beauty industry as fast as I can even say the word, with every new high-end product coming along with their almost-identical “dupe” in the market! There’s a major buzz among influencers and consumers alike, creating significant strides in all things makeup. To be honest, I’ve had my fair indulgence in the most popular drugstore products, my all-time favorite being Milani’s Baked Blush, but I wanted to test if it wasn’t just me getting reeled in. I went ahead and conducted a survey through some of my friends, a total of 23 people, and to say some of the results shocked me was an understatement!
Let’s begin with Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer and Physicians Formula’s Butter Bronzer. The Hoola Bronzer has been a cult favorite for years, so much so, I even used it back in 2017 during middle-school! Bring in Sofia Richie Grainge with her holy-grail drugstore bronzer brand, Physicians Formula, and now this is sweeping through social media. With this, I already knew this would be one of the first products I needed everyone’s opinion on ASAP. Although with the Butter Bronzer, you really get that “butter” feel when applying, mostly everyone who favored Hoola Bronzer agreed that the shades were more inclusive and with less of a shimmer look to it. Many of the cool-toned girlies would’ve given Butter Bronzer a try, had they included more shade options for these undertones, especially matte.
Next up, we have Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter and E.l.f’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter. The Flawless Filter has been a staple in almost everyone’s makeup bag for a good minute now, but I’m not going to lie, the Halo Glow Liquid Filter brought in some serious competition! I’m a firm believer that, after the release of E.l.f’s lookalike, you’re either team Charlotte Tilbury or team E.l.f; very rare do I ever hear of people being both. When trying the Halo Glow Liquid Filter and the Flawless Filter, there was a mutual consensus that both products were very similar, however, that couldn’t be said about the price. Many of the girls don’t mind splurging on the Flawless Filter, as this product has more of a light-weight, natural feel to it than its “dupe”. In the end, the Halo Glow Liquid Filter was loved by many, only paying a fraction of the price for the extra coverage.
Lastly, we have YSL’s Lash Clash Mascara and L’oreal Telescopic Mascara. YSL has been on the up-and-coming when it comes to makeup for the past few years now, but we can’t deny that L’oreal has been on top when it comes to drugstore mascara for as long as I knew what makeup even was! When including these products in my survey, I honestly had no idea what would be favored more. As I’ve tried both of them, I was struggling a little bit to pick between the two, myself. Many of my friends are in love with the unmistakable length Telescopic delivers, adding the tiniest bit of natural volume, making this a staple in an everyday routine. Those that have tried Lash Clash love it, however, it wasn’t perfectly clear if it was a product they would repurchase again, even though the lashes looked beautiful after application.
After giving a brief run-down on the results over who preferred what, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty details of the statistics. To be honest, the results of the survey still amazes me, in one way or another. 87% stayed true and loyal to Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer, while 13% followed in Richie Grainge’s footsteps. I had a feeling Benefit was going to come out on top with this category, but I never expected this much! 56.5% converted over to be a forever E.l.f girlie, while 43.5% claimed Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter is their ride-or-die base. Not going to lie, I expected these results, but even then, would you have expected Charlotte Tilbury to win? I definitely did. 72.7% screamed for the long lashes L’oreal’s Telescopic gives, while 27.3% loved giving YSL a try. Telescopic is a fan favorite (no surprise there), but who knows, YSL can make the come-up.
Between high-end makeup and their “dupes”, there’s always going to be some friendly competition, but at the end of the day, we all have our preferences and use what works for each of us! As one of my favorite products being a drugstore classic, “dupes” hold such a special place in my heart, but I can’t lie and say I don’t grow heart-eyes walking by a Sephora.