The Recessionista loves dupes. If you're not familiar with this term, it's used to describe drugstore products that "duplicate" or mimic popular high end products. Drugstore dupes can be an incredible way to try something popular without breaking the bank.I just love it when a drugstore line comes out with a product that mimics a high end product, either in the shade or color, or even just the product itself. Case in point: L'Oreal Paris has a product called Color Juice lipgloss, which comes in a cute little see-thru tube. It's no coincidence that Color Juice glosses look a lot like Lancome Juicy Tubes (L'Oreal Paris owns Lancome, FYI). From the formula to the shades to even the fragrance and taste, these two products are so similar that it might be difficult to differentiate in a blind test. If you've been wanting to try Juicy Tubes but can't afford them, just remember that there's always the drugstore counterpart.
So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when I saw the new Milani Lip Mixers at CVS the other day. I immediately thought: "Hey, these look a lot like the new MAC Tricolour Lipglasses from the Sugarsweet Collection."
Available in six shades, Milani Lip Mixers are glosses that have three different colors layered in one tube and the shades are simply gorgeous (MAC's Tricolour Lipglass, which also layers three different colors in one tube, is available in five shades). Also, both MAC and Milani use the word "pearl" to describe the shimmery glosses. Either way, because of the three layers of color, the effect should be similar with each product: The three colors will swirl in a slightly different and unique way each time you apply the gloss to your lips.
I haven't personally tried either product yet (boo hoo!) but I can tell you right now that $6.99 for Milani Lip Mixer vs. $17.50 for MAC Tricolour Lipglass is pushing me toward getting in my car and driving back to CVS right now.
Thanks for the new tips, Recessionista! The L'Oreal Color Juices really are terrific substitutes for the Lancome products. And speaking of dupes, I have also had good luck using drugstore dupes of hair products, like Long's version of Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo.
ReplyDeleteOceanwoman! Thank you so much! I am planning a future post about hair product dupes (are you reading my mind??). Stay tuned, please!! :)
ReplyDeleteI saw these and was very excited, too! I plan on buying one of each and doing a comparison post sometime. Funny thing is, the Milani versions look MUCH more pigmented than the MAC - I hear those are practically transparent!
ReplyDeleteJennBee, I had no idea about the MAC glosses! Wow...yet another reason not to buy them :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for your comparison and review on the Milani glosses...I was just at CVS today and I was soooo tempted to get one. Just waiting for a BOGO to really make it worth my while!