One thing I know for sure is that I never like to spend money on sharpeners. They're not fun to buy, they're not fun to look at and they're definitely not fun to clean. But they're a necessity, which means most of us have to buy them. But the thing is, whenever I try to cut costs and buy an inexpensive sharpener, it never sharpens my liners to perfection, and I loooove a sharp, clean point on my pencils (as I'm sure you do too).
So thanks to longtime reader beautifulmonday, I've got a GREAT tip on getting a fabulous sharpener that is nearly identical to a sharpener that costs about seven times as much:
Essence Cosmetics Sharpener
(retail: $1.50)
I bought some Urban Decay eyeliner pencils about 6 months ago on sale on Hautelook, in a set that came with UD's Grindhouse sharpener. I had heard a lot about their pencil sharpener- that it was outstanding and really gets a good point every time without wasting too much product or taking 10+ twists. It really is a great sharpener. It comes in purple with a silver butterfly print on the top and it's fantastic. By itself, it retails for $10 on UD's website and Sephora's site (not counting shipping).I had previously bought a sharpener from Essence because my old sharpener was super old and starting to rust (and had never been that great). I think you can see where this is going. The other day I was sharpening an eyeliner prior to use, and I took a closer look at the two sharpeners because I needed to empty them.G, they're IDENTICAL. Everything from the way the lids hinge on, to the feeling when you use them. The blades both have little manufacturers marks on them that say Made In Germany with a little symbol, which are also identical between the two...the only difference is that the Essence one is pink instead of purple and doesn't have the butterfly print on it. Oh yea, and it's $1.50. :)
I'd say this is a dupe alert and I cannot wait to get my hands on the Essence sharpener! Thank you so much, beautifulmonday, for taking the time to share your discovery with us. I know that none of like to spend a lot of money on sharpeners, so this is a fantastic alternative!
As of the time of this post, the Essence sharpener is not on the Ulta website, although I have seen it in-store at my local Ulta. For more info on the Essence sharpener, click here.
They probably are produced by the same manufacturer. I read the Beauty and the Bulls**t and she has some good information about how the beauty companies all source from the same places for brushes, eyeliners, lipliners. I'm sure sharpeners probably fall under that as well.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was thinking that too. It's also why I'm so reluctant to buy expensive eyeliner ;)
DeleteI've heard about this also! Like how the Milani Shadow Eyez and other UD dupes are all "made in Germany"...very interesting!
DeleteI bought this sharpener about a month ago as a filler product for an Ulta coupon I had. So glad I purchased it because it works great!
ReplyDeleteOooohh! Gonna buy for sure!!!!
ReplyDeleteHey Robin!! Could you do me a HUGE favor and email me? I tried finding your email address through your profile and you don't have one listed, and I need to ask you a question (it's good, I promise!). Thanks, hun. xo
DeleteThis has been my mantra for years: not everything with a higher price tag is better. It can be hit or miss, like with pencil sharpeners but, thank goodness for the Internet. We can share this great tip to the entire world! :) My taste in wine is a good point. Some cheaper wines taste better to me than the expensive ones. However, I think someone who drinks wine on a more regular basis probably knows better...LOL! Long live cheaper dupes!!! :)
ReplyDeleteI love my grindhouse sharpener! definitely picking this up :)
ReplyDeleteI love my Grindhouse! It's the best sharpener, in my book! I love that it has such a cheap dupe!
ReplyDeleteI love buying Essence at Ulta because it's even cheaper when you use Ulta coupons. I was in there tonight with a $5 off $15 coupon that I got in a magazine. I bought 5 of their nailpolishes in the new bottles, one of their Nail Art glitter topcoats, and their new eyeshadow primer. After the coupon, my total was $9.93 before tax. I had thought I was spending over $15 but the eyeshadow primer rung up a dollar less than the price stated on the display. I'm glad the coupon still worked.
ReplyDeleteThis one Ulta location that I went to has a double-wide Essence display that I've never seen anywhere else. The right-hand side of it is almost all nail art stuff and the left-hand side is makeup. The other Ultas here and the HEB grocery stores here only have the single-wide display bay.
I saw one of those types of display while visiting an Ulta in a another city. I was so jealous. I love Essence but I've gotten everything I want from the tiny display in my Ulta.
DeleteExcellent!! I've been using a old old cheap one from years ago and was planning to buy a new one and now that I see this, YAY!
ReplyDeleteGuess I'll be picking one up! :)
Gosh I passed this by today and I was like "Why would anybody buy a sharpern"....BOY was I wrong!! too bad, thanks for the review! :)
ReplyDeletei went out on ulta's website today and it was available price $1.99, i will diff be geeting one, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe NYX sharpener is exactly the same, too!
ReplyDeleteAs luck would have it, there are about 4 HEBs nearby and they sell this too! I'm hopping on down to check it out. I have a super crappy sharpener and have been wanting a new one. Will report back for any other Central Texas folks interested. Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, I used cheap sharpeners, but I finally bought a Sephora sharpener about a year ago for $6-$8 (?). Worth every penny. Never had a problem.
ReplyDeleteHmmm I guess I don't understand the plethora of bad sharpeners. I got my Sally Beauty one so long ago I forget, years, the stainless steel German made dual sided one that costs less than five bucks IIRC. No more than ten anyway. Never have issues with it :) I got Grindhouse in a set recently and it was fine at first but now must need to be cleaned or sharpened... it seems to be leaving gouges on my pencils, esp the shadow liners. Or its got a nick in the blade. The hinge on mine also broke first thingo so its been held together with rubberbands. LolL did I get the only dud in the Grindhouse?? So, not sure how impressed I am by this one that was also costlier in general. the Essence grabs me with the pink color.... Harder to misplace! :) probably get just for that
ReplyDeleteP.s. My Ulta just underwent a renovation of sorts when they redid their point system or whatever...and brought in a lot more NYX and more Essence than I've seen yet, yay! I can't remember what they probably got rid of but by the looks of it, they aren't missed in exchange for these.
Delete*back to lurkdom* :)
Went to Ulta tody at lunch and their Essence section was so pitiful! But, I looked through the mostly empty cubbies and lo and behold ONE STRAY SHARPENER! And, it's a transluscent neon GREEN! SO COOL!
ReplyDeleteI used crappy sharpeners for years - didn't know anything different existed! Broke down about 6 months ago and got the UD Grindhouse and YES it TOTALLY makes a difference.
I am happy to have this much cheaper dupe!!!!
Went and picked up one yesterday, last pink one they had (fav color) I've had an old maybelline forever but the lid broke and I was totally bummed, bought a new one from them and it wasn't as good as my old one...hopefully this one does the trick!
ReplyDeleteawesome!!! will def pick this up next time i go to ulta! i have a sephora brand sharpener that broke recently. didn't work to well anyway lol.
ReplyDeleteOr you can put them in the freezer the night before sharpening to get a killer stiletto tip!
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit more expensive at $3.99, but Milani also has the same sharpener. I bought it and an eyeshadow at CVS and got $3 back in ECB's. CVS has a sale $3 ECB's when you spend $10 on Milani.
ReplyDeleteI bought the Essence pencil sharpener today to compare to the UD one, which I already owned, and I agree - totally identical! Thanks so much for posting this!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started using the creamier eyeliners, my old sharpener would eat down half of a liner without ever giving me a point. I found one I really liked at Rite Aid from Style something-or-other (sorry, the name has slipped my mind!). Well, after this post I HAD to pick up the Essence one from Ulta. I don't own the Grindhouse, so I don't personally know how well that one works, but I've heard it's amazing. I grabbed the LAST Essence sharpener at my Ulta, and tried it out on my Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner. It gave me the BEST point possible. I'm thinking of buying a couple as back ups whenever they come back in stock. Thank you so much for this post, G! And thank you, Beautifulmonday for alerting G!
ReplyDeleteafter reading this via Project Swatch, i took a look at my Revlon & Milani dual sharpeners & they, too, have that same "Made in Germany" blade with the same symbol. As already suggested above, it's most likely that all these companies get their blades from the same maker & just put them in different colored plastic. So i guess you really are just paying for a name!
ReplyDeleteHi. I own the "Dual Sharpener" from Essence (bought at Ulta), but can't find the one called "Cosmetics Sharpener". Are they the same thing? My problem is the Cover Girl Flamed Out Eyeshadow pencils can't be sharpened in the Dual Sharpener - it is too large for the small hole and too small for the large hole. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!!!! Thanks so much!!
ReplyDeleteRobin
Did you ever get an answer about the sharpener? How do you like the duo one? I looked online at Ulta to get this sharpener and it was discontinued so I was wondering how the Duo Sharpener compared..
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