With all the current Blogger technical difficulties, I took to Twitter and Facebook last night to give you a sneak peek of a drugstore dupe that I recently discovered. If you saw the pic I posted, I did not disclose which shades were swatched, so now I'd like to end the suspense:
I found a fantastic dupe of NARS Dolce Vita blush, folks!
Looking at them in the pans, it's difficult to see the similarities. But look what happens when I swatch them on my skin:
Be sure to enlarge the above photo to get a closer look
As you can see, NARS Dolce Vita blush has a bit more pink to it, but when applied on my cheeks, it's incredibly difficult for me to tell them apart. I really have to study my face to pick out which is which. The biggest difference, aside from there being more pink in Dolce Vita, is that the Milani blush has more dimension to it, as opposed to the more matte wash of color you get with Dolce Vita. With Fantastico Mauve, you get a soft sheen on the skin and gold sparkle as well (I've mentioned in previous Milani posts that the gold sparkle can be easily buffed away if you so choose).
I'd also like to note that NARS Dolce Vita is an incredibly pigmented blush (it's easy to overdo it if you're not careful) and Milani Fantastico Mauve really gives it a run for its money. I find the pigmentation of the Milani blush to be right on par with the pigmentation of the NARS blush, however I believe that the Milani blush applies slightly better on my skin than the NARS. The Milani blush glides across my cheeks with such ease, but if my skin is a little dry, I find my NARS blush can leave a bit of a spotty, inconsistent color on my cheeks (certain areas of my skin look darker than others). For what it's worth, I've never had that issue with the Milani blush.
While not an exact match, I think Fantastico Mauve is so close that I feel comfortable calling it a dupe. If you can't afford the real thing, I think Milani Fantastico Mauve is an excellent alternative and--dupe aside--it's a lovely, extremely pigmented shade that I think would work with a variety of skintones. The quality is amazing and, at just $7.99, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.
Do you own NARS Dolce Vita and Milani Fantastico Mauve? If so, do you agree with my dupe assessment?
A sample of Milani Baked Blush was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. NARS Dolce Vita was purchased with personal funds. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.
Correct me if I'm wrong; those blush colors seem like they would work on a lot of different skin tones. The only NARS dupe I have went to is Orgasm. I got mark's dupe (I can't remember its name) and Milani's Luminous.
ReplyDeleteAnother dupe is NYX Pinched. I love mine!!!
ReplyDeleteKimberly: Yep! (In fact, I said that very thing in the last paragraph of this post! lol!) You know, I think I had Luminous too, many moons ago, and it was lovely as well. Go Milani! :)
ReplyDeleteRachel's Blog: Oooh, great to know! Thanks for the tip!
I don't own either of those, but I do own Milani's Dolce Pink, Rose D'oro, and Luminoso! I LOVE LOVE LOVE those blushes!
ReplyDeleteOoooh! Pretty! Would you believe that Fantistico Mauve is one of the baked blushes that I *don't* have. Looks like I will have to hit walgreens this weekend! :) I actually think that the Milani swatches prettier than the NARS!
ReplyDeleteAhh! I want to try Milani's new baked blushes so badly! Fantastico Mauve, Corallina, and Red Vino caught my eye becuase they're so unique. And you're swatches are making me want to run to my local Walgreens and purchase all of them! Hehe <3
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to get my hands in some of those, but I can't find them anywhere near me.... Hope that they bring them, I live in Hartford Connecticut.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I have Fantastico Mauve and I love it. It's so nice to know that it's a dupe for one of my high-end favorites! XO
ReplyDeleteoh my now I need this one too?! you're killing me G, LOL! I have about 4 of these after finally finding Dolce Pink recently (my favorite so far, at least until I'm a bit more tan) and I love them all. I was worried this might be too cool-toned on me but swatched like that it looks far less blue-toned and really pretty. I've always wanted Dolce Vita so wow.... great find and back to Wags I go :p
ReplyDeleteWet and Wilds Berry Shimmer blush is very close to NARS Taos. Although Sleek and Black Radiance are both drugstore brands, I thought I would add that Sleeks Sahara Blush is a dupe for Black Radiance blush in Toasted Almond since Sleek isn't available in the States. Does anyone know of a dupe for MAC Mineralized Skinfinish? I've heard Ruby Kisses and Milani have something similar but not sure if there was something else. Thanks for any replies.
ReplyDeletei had a feeling about the milani blushes even the maitai one of the regular blushes being close in color to exhibit A and also the Milani Red vino being somewhat similar but with shimmer flecks of gold to exhibit A. I have also thought Exhibit A is also a color in the hard candy fox in a box flushed the red color, and also sleek scandalous but thats a limmited edition however they have a blush by 3 that has a shade that is extremely similar. They have some very rare blush colors. And a lot of dupes to nars apparently their blushes on their website are 5 usd.
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