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Finding a cheaper option for a fave product

22 posts, 10 members
trudijoy
8375 posts
What have you had on your holy grail list that's then been replaced with a just-as-great (or better!!) cheaper alternative?

For me the top one recently  is the Bare Minerals brow pencil, which costs half my former fave Benefit one but is probably better
Shana_Banana84
567 posts
For me I was obsessed with Nars sheer glow foundation BUT when I ran out and I had no funds at the time I found Rimmel's Fresher Skin foundation and oh my it sits sooo much better and doesn't cling to my dry spots!  Winning at life right there!  $25 compared to $75 yussss
trudijoy
8375 posts
niiiice Shana! I'm still stuck on my expensive foundation and just fell in love with their expensive BB cream too i use Stila)....
Charmmy-Kitty
639 posts
My one by one maybelline mascara is pretty close to the diorshow extase one. But it breaks my heart that I can't find the maybelline ones in stores anymore :(
tannygirl
3392 posts
   I love my Sabun soap and I was also using it for hand soap as well. Unfortunately I share the bathroom with other people so going through a bar of Sabun every two weeks adds up. So I looked around online and found this really well priced glycerin soap. It's under 6NZD for three 100gm bars which is more affordable. It works well for my sensitive skin, although I still use Sabun soap for showers.
Toni-Lee
503 posts
I'm still loving the estee lauder double wear foundation. Could anyone recommend a cheaper option that is medium to full coverage with the same finish as the ELDW?
Macs
5351 posts
I've gotta try that foundation Toni. It's been on my wishlist for ages. My favourite drugstore is Revlon of all brands. Must try Rimmel that Shana mentioned. I'm halfway through my Mac Prolongwear. 
Toni-Lee
503 posts
I heard revlon colorstay is meant to be a dupe but I've never tried it.
Toni-Lee
503 posts
They now sell pumps for the estee lauder foundations $15 from life pharmacy.
SooziesWorld
2999 posts
Trudi, how does the Bare Minerals brow pencil compare to the Billion Dollar Brows one. BDB is my favourite but Bare Minerals is a lot easier to find. 
trudijoy
8375 posts
loved the BDB but it's well over a year since I had one so hard to say! The Bare Minerals one is wind up and a bit thicker and softer than the Benefit one I loved (Precisely My Brow) but it's very, very good. For $25 it's worth a go, I reckon.
SooziesWorld
2999 posts
I'll check it out the next time I'm in Mecca. I'm currently using a Tony Moly one but the colour isn't quite right. I love the spoolie on the BDB one so I'm still using that with it. 
trudijoy
8375 posts
Yep the spoolie is  good; both the Benefit and Bare Minerals ones have one too
SooziesWorld
2999 posts
My Tony Moly one has a spoolie but it's too soft. It only cost me a few dollars in Korea though. 
Macs
5351 posts
That was the downside to that foundation aye no pump. I'll remember that . 
Charmmy-Kitty
639 posts
What about decanting the foundation into a pump bottle? I think I've seen your typical foundation pump bottle cheap on ebay or aliexpress and it's just an empty bottle for you to put serum or lotions and stuff in.
Shana_Banana84
567 posts
Trudi ooooo I have always wanted to try Stila. I managed to get a small sample from Mecca and loved it so maybe I will try it next time. Hehe more money on Stila then for BB cream. Lucky it's worth treating yaself.  macs the rimmel is definitely worth a go. I hope you love it as much as I do! 
trudijoy
8375 posts
Shana I started with samples too, Mecca are fab for samples <3 I got a few shades of the Stila and a few of Nars Sheer Glow to try. HATED the Nars but the Stila was perfect. It's literally like my skin in a bottle, looks so natural
MissQT
1547 posts
Great thread, I'll have to check out the bare minerals eyebrow pencil as I'm currently using billion dollar brow. I love maybelline falsies mascara which is a pretty close dupe for benefit roller lash which is my fave mascara. Benefit is still better, but for less than half the price, the maybelline one is really good.
Ringy
825 posts
I bought the Clinique vitamin c system that's sort of new - loved it - then remembered years ago using an Avon vit c serum so I did a little research and found myself an Avon rep and purchased it again. At $130 vs $15 it's a pretty good dupe - and it has a much longer shelf life (Clinique vials are 7 day shelf life once opened). I wanted to try The Ordinary Vit C but it was out of stock so that will be my next comparison as it's quite cheap too.  
Imoshen
461 posts
The Clinique Vitamin C stuff is super expensive.  I was really excited they were coming out with it but after looking at it and doing some research I just couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money.

I have taken to buying my Ordinary stuff from Victoria Health now.  Prices are about the same as Beautylish and shipping time takes roughly 2-3 weeks.  Victoria Health seem to have The Orindary products on their website for purchase before The Ordinary's OWN website too so I was able to pick up their new 30% Suspension along with Reservatrol and Ferulic Acid Antioxidant.

If you can't wait for the shipping, try La Femme Beauty.  I purchased a Vitamin C 23% Suspension from them and delivery was overnight.
tannygirl
3392 posts
  Oooh thanks for that. I've been stalking Beautylish for weeks. Recently they did restock some items but then of course stuff sells out really fast on there. 

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