Looking for Dupes

Ever found something that you really love but there's just that little something wrong with it… it's limited edition or discontinued or maybe contains an ingredient to which you're sensitive. Well, this is exactly my problem. I've got a couple of products in my collection that I absolutely adore but I need to find a dupe. 

First up is my Mac Cremesheen Lipgloss in the shade Colour Saturation. It's a beautiful product, I love the formula so much and the shade is just dreamy. It's that perfect berry tone that's effortless to wear but looks so damn good. Sadly, it was a limited edition shade and I now have to hunt down an alternative become mine is definitely past it's use by date.

Then we have my Vichy Dermablend Powder* which is hands down the best setting/mattifying powder I've found so far. It just holds my makeup in place for ages and does such a terrific job of keeping my oily t-zone matte. However, this is 100% talc - straight up, talcy goodness. Or, in my case, badness, because my skin doesn't get on with talc all too well. I've had to swap this out of my routine (I've replaced it with a mattifying balm) but I'd love to find a powder that's as  effective that doesn't contain talc.

Lastly, we have my Dainty Doll Powder Blush in Money Talks, the perrrrfect neutral blush that effortlessly works to sculpt and shape my face. I love the colour so much but once again talc is the main ingredient, and my skin just doesn't love this blush. I've only hung on to it for this long because I want to try and colour match a dupe. If anyone has any recommendations of where to look then please do let me know in the comments - I'm dying to find a replacement. 

Are there any dupes that you're looking for?

Wake Your Face Up: Dainty Doll Powder Blusher in Shade 004 You Are My Sunshine (Review and Swatches)

This is the second Dainty Doll Powder Blusher that I've reviewed (you can read my other review here, if you're interested) and it is the second one that I've fallen in love with. Dainty Doll Powder Blusher in the shade Orange County Girl (004) is an absolutely gorgeous peach shade with a healthy dose of very finely milled golden shimmer running through it. I find the colour to be really amazing. It's subtle but noticeable and offers cheeks a really lovely warmth that I've found is a really easy way to wake my face up.

I'm quite pale at the moment (almost back at my palest) so I do apply this relatively lightly although I have applied it more heavily than in the photo above and I still liked how it looks. I use my Real Techniques Blusher Brush to apply this and find that I just have to gently tap it onto the powder and enough will transfer to give a lovely, light application of colour. It really looks lovely on very fair skin as you can wear it very lightly as well as being able to build it up easily and evenly when you want more of a statement cheek. I think this is the absolute perfect blush for people with pale skin like mine to wear in the summertime, when they have just a hint of a tanned glow to their faces. I never tan terribly well but when I'm a slightly darker shade I think the beauty and warmth of this blush will really shine through. Although I'm wearing this a lot at the moment, I can forsee this (and my other favourite shade, Money Talks 004) being summer staples.

The wear time on these blushes is fantastic. When I wear primer under my foundation these do last a bit better, but even without primer I have found that these last really well throughout the day, 9am to 6-7pm, (but with primer the colour looks a bit closer to how it does in the morning right at the end of the day). If I was to go out anywhere in the evening and wanted to look freshly made-up then I would most likely touch up my blusher, but I'd probably do this with all my make-up as my oily skin tends to need some attention after a full day in make-up. Also, it's worth knowing that the packaging of this blush is really quite lovely. The compact is really sturdy and the mirror is really large making this a product that it's really convenient to keep in your handbag.

All in all, these blushes are fantastic. Especially if you pick them up from websites such as HalfPricePerfumes or Fragrance Direct for the seriously low price of £1.99. Keep checking around for these as they frequently come in and out of stock! If you like the look of Orange County Girl I would seriously recommend checking out Money Talks as this is equally (if not more) lovely.

Have you tried any Dainty Doll products? Do you like the look of this blush?

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Subtle and Gorgeous: Dainty Doll Blush in Money Talks (003)

Dainty Doll was a brand that I'd never tried before but when I saw their products on Fragrance Direct for seriously discounted prices I couldn't say no to giving them a try! I initially fell in love with shade 004 (You are my Sunshine) which I featured in my March Favourites post but Dainty Doll's Blush in shade 003 (Money Talks) is really subtle and needs to be applied for you to be able to see what a stunning colour it is. I find it hard to describe this as a blush as, in my opinion, the shade of it looks a lot closer to what I'd call a bronzer. I certainly use this as a bronzer / contouring product as I don't expect it to add much 'blush' to my complexion. However, I think the look of this product as a bronzer/contour is absolutely stunning. It's actually achieved a considerable amount of compliments which obviously makes me pick it up more often than other bronzers / contouring products that I've reached for in the past.

In the above photo of my make-up, I'm wearing the sort of products that I'd normally team this blush with. I'm wearing Maxfactor's Clump Defy mascara, Eyeko's Pen Eye Liner, the Body Shop's eyebrow pencil in Blonde and Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Precious. On my Skin I'm wearing very minimal base products, just a Revlon foundation and Collection concealer. I find that if I'm in a rush adding 'Money Talks' with a Real Techniques Blusher Brush is not only very quick but it's pretty fool proof. It's hard to apply too much and it's very easy to blend to create a natural bronzed cheek. As the product isn't at all orange there is now stark contrasts for pale skin and the final effect is really subtle. I think that it's a gorgeous colour and a fantastic product, especially for £1.99! This is going to be a go-to shade for me for summer as it looks great  even when I'm only wearing a light foundation and mascara, but also adds a subtle elegance to a smokey eye as a powder highlighter can be blended across the top of the cheekbone very easily producing a more dramatic (but still not too in-your-face) contour.

I love this and I'd definitely recommend it! If you're pale like me I think you'll love wearing this :) Keep on checking websites like Fragrance Direct and Half Price Perfumes as it comes in and out of stock regularly. 

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A Massive Beauty Haul and an Important Life Lesson

Last week I finally received the money that I had been awarded in a court case that I won recently. It sounds more exciting or worrying that it was. It was basically to do with being ripped off by my old landlord who was trying to take advantage of me and my flatmates by overcharging us and failing to deliver a habitable home. Fast forward 18 months and we finally managed to get back the rent we paid (for a house we couldn't live in). This meant that for the first time in a long while I've had money that I can spend with an entirely guilt free conscience as I'd written off thinking that I'd never get it back. (We also won our legal fees, interest and our old deposits back, so it was an incredible success for us.)

This isn't necessarily the right place to talk about this, but I think that it is really important to fight for what you think is right. If someone tries to take advantage of you then you don't have to idly sit by and put up with it. As a student I have noticed that people really do try and take advantage of you because they assume that you're young, disorganised and lack the confidence to go after what you think you deserve. This is completely wrong and unfair. If you stand up for yourself, seek advice and get organised you can get the results you deserve. After finally being awarded our money we asked the lawyer we were working with to write a press statement (that was worded in such a way that we wouldn't get us in any trouble) so that we could distribute it to our local and student newspapers. No-one should have to suffer the stress (or physical danger from the house's condition) that we have gone through from the beginning of this saga until now. When something is clearly unacceptable you should say so, you should never have to put up with unacceptable behaviour.

Anyway! Now that little speech is over we can move on. It's been a very weird fortnight for me and I've been a little distant from my blog. Despite the relief of winning the court case I actually got some terrible news about a death in the family last week. The way I dealt with it, it would appear, was to shop, and I did in fact go on a bit of a shopping rampage It was all loosely within the budget I set for myself so it wasn't an insane move on my part, but it has added up to a lot of stuff. All the following (as well as a considerable wardrobe upgrade and a holiday I'm going to book for after I graduate) are my reward for standing up for myself and a celebration of the fact that we won, that all the organisation and work was worth it in the end. 

I know, I went a little crazy. But despite how it looks it was all quite a good deal! I went to T.K. Maxx, Boots, cashed in my Birchbox points towards the Korres lip products and then did a massive Fragrance Direct shop. I'm really excited about trying the new foundations I bought and I've already cracked out the Dainty Doll Lipsticks and they are gorgeous- I should have bought all of the shades! Reviews will follow, but not all at once (as you can imagine). 

If there is anything you want to see reviewed sooner rather than later then let me know in a comment and I'll put that at the top of my list :) Is there anything I bought that you really like the look of?

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