7 days 7 posts 7 guest- Day 5

Hello there Beauty and the Blog readers!
As you may already know Beauty and the Blog is being invaded by guest bloggers this week and its my job to to do the Saturday post! For those of you who don't know who I am my name is Sophie and I created the VivaGlam026 blog and Youtube channel. I live and breathe all things fashion and makeup so for my guest blogging post I've decided to share a few of my beauty cheats and show you some high street (or "drugstore" for all you readers over the pond) dupes for high end brand products.

1) Ok so this may not be the world's biggest secret but I feel it is essential for any dupe post. These products are so similar to the point that, what I think, the only thing separating the two products is packaging and price. And they are... e.l.f's High Definition Powder and Make Up For Ever's HD Powder. I own the e.l.f powder and have tried the MUFE one many times and I can honestly say they are pretty much identical powders! I love to use my e.l.f one as a translucent finishing powder, it - like its MUFE equivalent - leaves the skin feeling so smooth without giving a powdery effect. They both also claim to work great with cameras and HD recorders, providing a "soft glow" to the skin and I have to say just looking in the mirror I can see the glowy effect. The e.l.f powder retails at £6 in the UK and the MUFE one is available at around £22.50 and overall I would definitely choose the e.l.f powder as you get an identical soft powder product in what I have to say is definitely nicer packaging.

(Left - Elf) (Right - MUFE)

2) Now this next one isn't an exact dupe for the Lancome Ombre Absolue Mono Eyeshadow (the name has rubbed off my one but I can see the word "Deep" and the numbers 118) but they look very similar on the eye when applied and blended. And it is Make Up Academy's single pearl eyeshadow in Shade 14. The Lancome shadow is slightly lighter than the MUA one and the shimmer is more finely milled but the two green shades are still similar, and with the MUA alternative being just £1 (yes a quid!!) compared with the Lancome £16.35 I would be sure to check it out first before investing in the high end shadow. I would even go as far to say that the MUA shadow is more pigmented than the Lancome and you get far more product so the MUA is definitely the bargain here!

(Left - MUA) (Right - Lancome)

3) The love for the nude lip seems to be growing and growing and I have to admit I am swaying to the nude side after previously being a firm sceptic. Probably the most well know "true" nude lipstick is M.A.C's Creme D'Nude - a creamy pink-toned flesh nude colour. Priced at £13.50 in the UK it isn't highly expensive but still, a high street equivalent is always loved. The one I've found (again not a secret but worth an honourable mention) is GOSH Darling, priced at around £6 and available from Superdrug, this true nude is an amazing dupe for the cult classic MAC equivalent. Apart from the slight difference in texture, the two are practically identical, although the picture shows the GOSH one to look slightly matte - which it isn't. So girls, if its a nude you're looking for but aren't sure whether to invest in MAC take a look in your local Superdrug and try this lil devil out.

(Left - M.A.C) (Right - GOSH)

4) Moving on to my favourite eyeshadow now - Walnut Pearl by 17 - a fantastic dupe for Mulch by M.A.C. The two are both warm, mid-toned browns with shimmer in. In the picture they dont look all that similar but in the person and once applied, the two are practically identical in colour. The only difference ive noticed is the texture, the 17 one is far firmer in the pot than the soft MAC one, the MAC tends to have a little fall out if the product isnt packed on to the brush so in that sense the 17 has the advantage. All in all I think its personal preference when it comes to choosing between the two, I now prefer to collect MAC shadows in pan form to put in palettes so have started to sway away from individual shadows. On the other hand, at just £3.29 the 17 is far cheaper than the MAC at £12 in the pot and around £10 in pan form.

(Left - 17) (Right - MAC)

5) The next two I have only heard reviews on and that is NYX's Pinch and Nars's Orgasm. According to reviews the two are extremely similar both in colour and in texture as you can probably see from the picure below. Unfortunately NYX is only available online in the UK and even then it isn't readily available but NYX is a high street brand from over the pond and as we can see offers a great alternative to the high end Nars one, so if you can find it on the net or you live in a country that sells it I would say its definitely worth a look at!

(Left - NYX)(Right - Nars)

6) Now if you're a subscriber to my Youtube channel you will probably have already seen me rave about the next product, the St Moriz Mousse Self Tanner. I've hailed it as an EXACT dupe for the world famous St Tropez mousse alternative. Even looking at the ingredients list you can see there is nothing between the two. if you want to see a full video review click visit my channel at http://www.youtube.com/vivaglam026

7) Last but not least...Next, I've recently noticed, tend to release perfumes inspired by the popular high end ones of the time. They've released ones inspired by Marc Jacobs's Daisy and recently they're released a new fragrance which looks suspiciously similar in packaging to Chanel Chance. Their inspired perfumes are similar in both scent and packaging and this is no exception.. Pure by Next I've discovered is excitingly close to Fuel For Life by Diesel in both scent and packaging. Just today i've had many compliments when wearing it and have been asked if it is the Diesel perfume. At £6 I would definitely have a look in next once in a while to see which fragrances they have in, you may be pleasantly surprised to see your favourite there!

Thank you all for reading, I know this was a bit of a beast on the length front, I got a little carried away ha. A big thank you to Beauty and the Blog for letting me guest blog!

xoxo Sophie

Beauty and the Blog says.... Thanks Sophie, I shall now be making a trip to next, you guys can check out more of Sophie HERE