Lime Crime Velvetine Dupe

I love lipstick, I rarely go a day without putting one on but I hate have to reapply throughout the day, so if I can find a lip product that lasts for ages and helps me spend less time reapplying then I need to have it.

Most of the lip products I have are either lip stains or matte lipsticks, I hate glosses, they always wear off and I always seem to wear them on the windiest days ever which results in my hair always getting stuck in a big glossy mess.

The whole point of this post really is to prove that you don’t need to always go for the brand names. I’m an absolute sucker for thinking that just because it’s a big brand or that I’ve seen someone famous wear it or have been told this is the IT product ,that I must have it.  I’m going to tell you a little bit about each product I’ve tested and then about what I thought of them. I suppose we can call this a Dupe post as well as the two Velvet Lipsticks are very similar.

Makeup Revolution (Right) Lime Crime (Left)

Firstly we have Lime Crime; I had heard of Lime Crime Velvetines from watching some of my favourite YouTubers and had heard really good things about them. Unfortunately we can’t get them here in Ireland so when I was over in London for IMATS I picked up two of them in Suede-Berry and Black Velvet, I think they cost about £10 each if my brain remembers correctly. I’ll be talking about Black Velvet in a future Halloween post so keep your eyes peeled for that one (yes it is a black lipstick, the inner Goth made me buy it). Suede-Berry is a lovely coral red, that goes on like a liquid and dries into a matte texture, and it also smells a bit like Werthers Originals, one of my favourite old lady sweets! These can be ordered from https://www.love-makeup.co.uk/ and cost £13.50 from their site or you can go to the Lime Crime website where they will cost $20.00. http://limecrime.com/

Suede-Berry 

The Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer in Keep Trying for You came from my first order from the company. What made me buy this was that it reminded me of the Lime Crime Velvetine so I bought it to compare them. These lip lacquers are only £3.00 which is an amazing price. The colour is a bright red that has some orange tones in it, it’s not the typical red I would usually go for but it is quiet nice on my lips. While Lime Crime goes on like a liquid the lacquer went on slightly creamier a lot like the same formula as the Bourjois Velvet Rouge Edition lipsticks.

Keep Trying For You

I wore each product on separate days, I did this when I was in work as each day is pretty much the exact same and noted what my lips where like before I had my coffee, my breakfast and my lunch and noted what they looked like after. I applied the lipstick once in the morning; they wore off slightly after each meal around where the lips meet but when I wet the lips and run my finger around them the colour distributed enough that it made it even again. Neither of them are drying which is important in a matte product, they just felt like my normal lips. By the end of work and after more than 8 hours wear the product had worn of pretty much completely on both lips, leaving just a slight stain of colour.

After taking a good look at both products they are basically the same apart from one being more liquid than the other on application. The Makeup Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer is definitely a dupe for the Lime Crime Velvetines, You save £10.50 by buying the Salvation Velvet Lacquers and I will be getting so much more of them, especially as I’ve seen Makeup Revolution stands popping up in Irish Superdrug stores so it’s going to be easier than ever to get my hands on them!

In future I’m going to go for more budget friendly products but as I do like my Dupe posts I might just have to get the odd high-end/more expensive products to test out for you guys.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tuesday | Urban Decay Naked 3 Dupe

I’ve been so excited to write this post for you guys! I’ve never seen a more amazing dupe than this before!

Tonight I’m bringing you a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, coming from a new UK company Makeup Revolution the Iconic 3 palette will only set you back £4.00.

I have only discovered Makeup Revolution in the last 2 months, they are a new company that launched back in March and have been bringing out amazing makeup since. I ordered a few things from their site last month and among them was their Iconic 3 palette. When I got it I was so surprised that it was exactly like my Naked 3 palette.

Just look at these pictures, you can see how similar they are. Even though they aren’t named like the Naked palette the colours are positioned the same.  The payoff is really good for such an affordable product, with some of the colours working out even better than in the Naked palette. There is some fall out but you get the exact same with the urban decay shadows.

Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 Palette

The palette is slim and small enough that you can bring it travelling with you and for £4.00 if you smash it or lose it while away I don’t think I would be crying too much like I would if I did the same with one of my more expensive palettes and would be back on their site ordering another within days.

Urban Decay Naked 3

I put the left eye in all Makeup Revolution and the Right eye in Naked 3 and used strange, limit, trick, nooner, factory and mugshot to create the look below. Some of the colours weren’t as dark as naked palette so had to build them up to match the naked eye, but blending was very easy and the colours weren’t chalky at all which you would usually find in affordable makeup.

Iconic 3 (Left), Naked 3 (Right)

The Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 palette retails for £4.00 versus the Naked 3 palette which will set you back €44.00 (varys around the country) that’s a whopper saving on €40.00, just think about all the other makeup you could buy on the Makeup Revolution website with that!

As far as I’m aware you can only buy Makeup Revolution products on their website here, but as their only a new brand I’m sure we’ll start seeing them more widely available.

Thanks for reading this week’s Dupe Tuesday!

Love Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tuesday | MAC Vs Wet N Wild

Welcome back to Dupe Tuesday, if you don’t know by now every Tuesday I will bring a drugstore product that gives the exact same result as a high-end one.

This week it’s the battle of the lipsticks.

I have two favourite lip brands – MAC and Wet N Wild. I have only discovered the Wet N Wild lipsticks in the last few months as they have only arrived in Ireland since the start of the year and I have bought a good few on their Megalast lipsticks which are my favourite out of all their lipsticks.

I don’t love a high shine lip as I think they make my lips look even bigger than they already are so I tend to go for a more matte lippy which the Megalast ones are. The good thing about these is that they stay on for longer and even after it’s warn off they still leave a bit of a tint.

With the MAC lipsticks they can go from real creamy to matte so there’s a good chance I’ll find a lipstick that will be what I’m looking for.

I also love a dark lipstick, even though I’m blonde and probably should be wearing lighter pinkier colours I live for dark plums and reds.

Now when I discovered Rebel by MAC I thought that it was the most perfect colour, a deep plum and it lasted forever on the lips. I thought I had found my Holy Grail lipstick, but at €19.00 a pop those lipsticks don’t come cheap.

But why spend €19.00 when you can spend €2.99 on the Wet N Wild Megalast in Sugar Plum Fairy. It is literally the exact same colour as Rebel and stays on for just as long if not better! I had to really think about which colour was which when I had swiped them on my arm as they are so alike.

Rebel on the Left, Sugar Plum Fairy on the Right

I’ve rambled on a bit here but you just have to look at the swatches to see that these are pretty much the exact same colours.

That’s it for this week’s Dupe Tuesday tune in for next week’s where I will have a dupe of the Naked 3 palette for a 10^th of the price!

Have a great sunny week.

Love Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tuesday | Moroccan Oil Vs Aldi Miracle Oil

Welcome back to Dupe Tuesday!

This week I’m looking at a hair product that I recently discovered in Aldi! I’m never in Aldi but I’m house sitting for my brother and his local store is an Aldi. I was pottering around one if the days and spotted their Miracle Oil, firstly I thought I had seen a bottle of Moroccan Oil so that’s what peaked my interest. At closer inspection I found it to be very similar looking, it’s a hair oil that promises to “Strengthen, smooth and seal in shine”.

I had never bought a proper bottle of any of the Moroccan or Argan oils but at a beauty show a couple of years ago I was given a good few sample bottles of the Moroccan Oil. I’ve used it on and off when my hair has been looking a bit frizzy or dry and its worked wonders. I never thought I’d buy a proper full bottle of the stuff seeing as its €40 for a bottle, so when I saw this little bottle for only €3.99 I figured it was worth it even if it wasn’t going to work out for me it’s not as if I had just wasted a tonne.

My hair had been drab and dry the last couple of months, I get my hair dyed blonde so the dye does nothing to keep it healthy looking. I’ve used this nearly every time I’ve washed my hair the last 2 weeks, I pop only about 3-4 drops into my palm and rub it all over into the ends of my hair and anything left over I pop all over. I dry my hair normally and the result is the softest hair I think I’ve ever had! It’s so good I haven’t stopped touching my hair and telling others to do so to, and you know it works when your boyfriend even notices!

The great thing about this stuff is that its multifunctional, you can use it as a leave in conditioner if you want a treatment, as a finishing product and as an overnight treatment so you get even more bang for your buck!

I know there’s plenty of oils you can get in the likes of Penny’s/Primark for probably the same price, if not a little cheaper but I definably recommend this stuff. You can’t go wrong with an oil that will give you the same results as the top brand stuff and costing a tenth of the price.

Head down to Aldi today and get the Carino Professional Miracle Oil with argan oil.

Thanks for reading :)

Love Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tueday | Benefit High Beam Vs MeMeMe Beat the Blues

Hi Girls, I hope you're all recovered from the bank holiday weekend, I feel like I need another day especially after doing the Mini Marathon yesterday.

Anyway this is Dupe Tuesday where each Tuesday I will be showing you cheaper options of high end, more expensive brands. 

Today I have a dupe for Benefits High Beam which retails for €27.50 (£19.50 - the mark up for Euro's is crazy).  If you don't know already High Beam is highlighter for the face and I suppose you can use it on the body too. I bought my High Beam at the start of the year and and I use it on my cheek bones, a bit on my brow bone and anywhere really that the light hits my face just to give me that glow in the dull Irish weather and sometimes I mix it in with my foundation if I really want to look dewy and glowing.

I've been loving my high beam until a month or two ago when I received the MeMeMe Beat The Blues in Pearl Pink in one of my monthly Glossybox's. It is literally the exact same, if not better than the High Beam. It blends in really well leaving your skin glowing and retailing at just €6.99 (£5.99) it is well within everyone's budget.

MeMeMe is sold only in pharmacies in Ireland, the list of stockists can be found on their Facebook Page.

High Beam (Right) Beat the Blues (Left)

With a price difference of €20.51 why would you bother buying the Benefit High Beam.

Thanks for reading guys!

Sarah xoxo

Dupe Tuesday | L'Oreal vs Benefit

Dupe Tuesday
L'Oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream Vs Benefit Porefessional

On my rampage of Boots the other day I was creeping around the L’oreal stand and my eyes lit up when I saw the L’oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream.

It was in the BB cream section and I almost passed it by because it looked the same as the other BB creams, but luckily I noticed NEW on the packaging and that caught my attention. I think it’s only released in Ireland and the UK in the last month.

The Blur Cream contains micro blur technology and promises to instantly give flawless skin by immediately blurring pores, imperfections and refining skin texture. It comes in two colours for either Light to Medium Skin or Medium to Dark Skin, I chose the Light to Medium. It does say you can wear it with or without makeup but both colours end up translucent so I’m not too sure how great it will look unless you have absolutely flawless skin other than a few large pores and as it ends up translucent if you’re in the shop and they only have the darker tube then get it because it won’t make any difference to your skin colour.

(Left) Benefit Porefessional (Right) L'oreal Nude Magique Blur Cream

Just like the Maybelline Baby Skin and Benefit Porefessional they are silicone based. I would rank it in the middle of those two primers as it shares good qualities from both.

I would rival this to the Porefessional, it’s similar in colour, texture and the results are pretty much the exact same for half the price. I have really oily skin and my pores are super large so any primer or any cream that can cover them in is my new BBF (beauty best friend).

On application the cream leaves your skin with that silky silicone feeling, some people like this but I think it just feels a bit greasy and that goes for any silicone based primer I have tried, so I just leave it on my skin for a bit and let the product dry as much as it can into my skin.

I tried it on my MAC, Revlon and Rimmel foundations, and worked well on them all. I’ve heard other reviews saying that it helped their skin stay matte throughout the day, it didn’t have that effect on me but my skin wasn’t any more or less matte than usual.

Basically this for me is gives the exact same results as the Porefessional for a fraction of the cost. If you don’t want to fork over €34 at a Benefit counter then head over to Boots or any good Pharmacy that sells L’oreal because this beaut only costs €14.99.

Love Sarah xoxo

Urban Decay Electric Palette Dupe

I’m always on the lookout for a bargain and I especially love finding a cheaper product that will give me the same effect as a more expensive brand.

A few weeks back Urban Decay launched their new Electric Palette, now it’s completely different to all any of the other palettes they have brought out. The colours are bright and bold and probably not everyone’s cup of tea but they are such a welcome to see bright colours especially with the summer finally starting to knock on our doors!

The palette contains 5 matte shades and 5 shimmers and comes with a double ended brush as well. Like most Urban Decay palettes the price does some damage to your purse with a cost of €45 (in Debenhams right now with 10% of).

But if you don’t want to fork over that much money, especially on a palette that has a lot of colours that you won’t necessarily use on an everyday basis then why try out Sleek I Divine palettes.

I Candy

Acid

Ultra Matte V1

These palettes range between €14.39 and 9.99 and you can’t really get better than that. They have 3 palettes – Ultra Matte V1, I Candy and the one that is most like the Urban Decay Palette the I Divine Acid.

They obviously won’t be as good quality as the Urban Decay palette but if you use the right tools then I think you’ll get nearly just as good a look as you would with the Electric Palette.

So if you want to get the look but not have to fork out scores of money then head over to Sleek and choose your favourite palette.

You can get them at www.sleek.com or try your local Boots, I know the only one boots in my area that does them is Boots Liffey Vally, I've tried other boots around South Dublin but you can't find them anywhere.