Blush, bronzer and contour dupes
Cheek products are matched on finish first: matte against matte, a sheer flush against a sheer flush.
What are the best drugstore dupes for NARS Orgasm, Benefit Hoola, Rare Beauty blush and Charlotte Tilbury's wands?
wet n wild Color Icon Bronzer – Ticket to Brazil, about $5 ($12.89 / oz), against the $36 Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Bronzer, 90% less. Same matte, shimmer-free finish in a similar warm tan, and both lean on boron nitride and dimethicone for a smooth lay-down. Hoola is a talc powder preserved with parabens, while wet n wild's is talc-free, built on cellulose, silica and a silicone crosspolymer. About an eighth of the price.
1. wet n wild Color Icon Bronzer – Ticket to Brazil
for Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Matte Bronzer
$5vs $36−90% per oz
Same matte, shimmer-free finish in a similar warm tan, and both lean on boron nitride and dimethicone for a smooth lay-down.
What it does worse: Hoola is a talc powder preserved with parabens, while wet n wild's is talc-free, built on cellulose, silica and a silicone crosspolymer.
2. e.l.f. Cosmetics Soft Glam Cream Blush Stick
for rhode Pocket Blush
$7vs $25−84% per oz
#11 in Face Blushes on Amazon
Eight of the first nine ingredients are the same, octyldodecanol first in both, then synthetic wax, hydrogenated polyisobutene, cetyl ethylhexanoate, polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate, hydrogenated poly(C6-14 olefin), kaolin and silica, in the same twist-up stick with the same soft, diffused finish.
What it does worse: e.l.f. leaves out rhode's two peptides and tamanu oil and adds shea butter and sunflower oil, and it comes in 7 shades to rhode's 13.
3. e.l.f. Cosmetics Soft Glam Cream Bronzer Stick
for rhode Pocket Bronze
$8vs $25−82% per oz
The same twist-up cream stick on the same frame: synthetic wax and silica in the top four of both, polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate, hydrogenated poly(C6-14 olefin) and VP/hexadecene copolymer for slip and wear, and eight shades in each, named for the skin they suit.
What it does worse: e.l.f.'s main emollients are isononyl isononanoate and cetyl ethylhexanoate where rhode uses caprylic/capric triglyceride and neopentyl glycol diheptanoate, and e.l.f. skips rhode's peptides and kaolin and adds shea butter and sunflower oil.
4. e.l.f. Cosmetics Primer-Infused Bronzer
for Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Matte Bronzer
$7vs $59−81% per oz
#8 in Face Bronzers on Amazon
Same kind of powder: talc with dimethicone, nylon-12 and silica, pressed to a soft, shimmer-free matte that blends without patches.
What it does worse: Charlotte Tilbury adds mica and methyl methacrylate crosspolymer for a more blurred finish, while e.l.f. adds boron nitride, jojoba oil and shea butter, the primer in its name.
5. e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Highlight Beauty Wand
for Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Light Wand
$10vs $44−73% per oz
Same cushion-tip wand and a similar pearly finish.
What it does worse: Shades run a little warmer.
6. e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand
for Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand
$10vs $44−73% per oz
Same cushion-tip wand and the same kind of formula: water with isododecane and the same cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone emulsifier, so it dots on and blends out the same way.
What it does worse: Charlotte Tilbury's base is cyclopentasiloxane, which sets faster and flatter, while e.l.f. adds squalane and hydrogenated didecene, so it stays movable longer and looks a touch dewier.
7. e.l.f. SKIN Bronzing Drops
for Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops
$11 $13vs $39−72% per oz
#11 in Face Bronzers on Amazon
Same use: a few drops into moisturizer or foundation, or worn alone for a wash of bronze.
What it does worse: e.l.f.'s shimmers where D-Bronzi is matte, and it is a cosmetic rather than a peptide serum: no Matrixyl, no antioxidant claim to it.
8. Milani Cheek Kiss Blush + Glow – Dolce Pink
for Glossier Cloud Paint
$9vs $22−58% per oz
Both sheer out to a second-skin flush and build without patching over foundation.
What it does worse: Milani's carries pearl, so it reads dewy and doubles as a highlighter where Cloud Paint finishes soft-focus, and the cushion applicator puts down more product per press than Glossier's tube does.
9. Milani Baked Blush – Luminoso
for NARS Blush – Orgasm
$11.02 $12.99vs $34−56% per oz
#9 in Face Blushes on Amazon
The closest drugstore match to Orgasm's peachy-gold glow, in a baked formula that's slightly more luminous and less powdery. Less pigmented, so it's more forgiving to apply.
10. NYX Professional Makeup Matte Buttermelt Bronzer
for Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
$9.97 $11vs $38−56% per oz
#2 in Face Bronzers on Amazon
Same matte bronzer build: talc and mica with iron oxides and zinc stearate, pressed to a shimmer-free powder that blends out soft.
What it does worse: Too Faced adds real cocoa powder and a chocolate scent, while NYX adds mango and shea butters and sweet almond oil for a creamier slip.
11. Milani Cheek Kiss Cream Blush – Nude Kiss
for MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush
$9.32 $11.99vs $30−53% per oz
#28 in Face Blushes on Amazon
Same sheer, buildable cream blush in a compact on the same kind of emollient base, octyldodecanol and vitamin E in both, so it melts into skin rather than sitting on it.
What it does worse: Milani's balm-to-gel formula doubles as a lip tint and adds pomegranate, watermelon and rose oils, and its list includes rosin (colophonium), a common contact allergen worth a patch test.
12. Milani Baked Blush – Dolce Pink
for Laura Geller New York Baked Blush-n-Brighten Marbleized Blush – Tropic Hues
$11.95 $12.99vs $32−52% per oz
#9 in Face Blushes on Amazon
The same Italian baked base: talc, mica, dimethicone, isopropyl palmitate, polysorbate 20, jojoba oil, lauroyl lysine, nylon-12, magnesium aluminum silicate and the same borosilicate pearls are on both labels, more than twenty ingredients in all, and Temptalia rates Dolce Pink 90% like Tropic Hues.
What it does worse: Dolce Pink runs a little warmer, and Laura Geller adds centella and green tea where Milani adds grape leaf and an olive ferment.
How this list was made
The matte bronzers here are pressed powders with no shimmer on either side, both Charlotte Tilbury wands have an e.l.f. version with the same cushion tip, and the peach-gold of NARS Orgasm is matched by a baked Milani blush. Shade is the part that varies, and each comparison says which way the dupe leans: warmer, sheerer or more luminous.
