Thursday, November 14, 2013

Save or Splurge #1

I've decided to start a new post series called Save or Splurge. In this series, I will bring you high end products that have drugstore "dupes." The whole point is to give you my opinion on whether or not I think you should save by buying the dupe, or splurge on the real deal. 
Today, I'm bringing you the Nars Orgasm blush and Laguna bronzer duo vs. the elf Contouring Blush & Bronzer duo. I'm sure you've all heard about this"dupe" but I wanted to bring you my opinion on it. Keep reading to find out just how much of a dupe this really is. 




You may notice that the packaging is very similar. Mind you, I have the miniature size of the Nars blush and bronzer, but you can still see the similarities. Elf is of course a cheaper plastic and it doesn't have the same rubber finish as Nars, but the shape and layout is still the same. The product even looks very similar in the pan. Until you swatch it, then you see the actual differences. 


The picture above are the swatches from the elf contouring blush and bronzer duo. The blush is a very pretty matte pinky coral, and the bronzer is a very dark, matte brown. The blush has a few pieces of chunky glitter in the pan, but the glitter is pretty unnoticeable on. The bronzer is a bit too dark for me, so I have to use a VERY light hand when applying. The colors are very pigmented, which is a plus. However, there is a good amount of fall out so tapping off the excess is necessary. Especially with the bronzer. 



Above is the Nars Orgasm & Laguna duo. Once swatched, the colors are much sheerer than they appear to be. Orgasm is a lovely pinky coral with a bit of shimmer, and Laguna is a GORGEOUS golden bronze. It's shimmery, but only slightly. I would say it has more of a "glow" than anything. Both colors are definitely wearable all year long. 


 From left to right: elf blush, Orgasm, elf bronzer, and Laguna. 

I think it's clear to see that, while packaging is pretty on point, the actual products themselves are not really all that similar. The elf contouring duo is more pigmented and both are matte, while the Nars duo is more shimmery and and has more of a glow. 

For me, personally, I would have to splurge for the Nars duo. The elf one is perfectly fine, and I have used a lot of it, but it's definitely different from the Nars version. What do you think? Do you prefer the pigmentation and matteness of elf's duo? Let me know! 



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