Face it, as college students we don’t always have the extra money in our savings account to buy all those high-end makeup products everyone hypes about. Thankfully, there are some lifesaving brands out there that really are just cheaper (and sometimes better) copies of your makeup must-haves.
1. Foundation. Everyone wants that perfect shade of foundation that will last all day. A cheap but amazing dupe for the MAC Studio Face and Body Foundation can be found at your local CVS or Walgreens. Try out Maybelline’s Fit Me Foundation! ($28 vs. $7.99)
2. Palettes. Kick up your day or night with this amazing dupe for the Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette. With almost the exact same colors, the Makeup Revolution Salted Caramel Palette is a must-have! ($49 vs. $13.99)
3. Brows, brows, brows. One of the most recent trends has been keeping your eyebrows looking flawless. With the NYX Tame and Frame Tinted Brow Pomade, you can achieve the same look as you would with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. ($18 vs. $6.99)
4. Primer. For those of you with larger pores or uneven skin, try out NYX’s Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer instead of the Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. ($30 vs. $10)
5. Concealer. MAC’s Pro Longwear Concealer is many makeup artists’ holy grail, but you can get almost the same coverage with Maybelline’s Master Conceal. ($22 vs. $8.99)
6. Eyeshadow. For those special occasions or when you’re just feeling like you want to kick it up with a little bit of eyeshadow, prime your eyelids and get rid of any creasing with this extremely affordable dupe for the Urban Decay Primer Potion, Elf’s Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer. ($20 vs $2)
7. Highlighter. You’ve probably heard tons of great things about the Becca Champagne Pop highlighter, and maybe even seen how wonderfully pigmented it is. But, you can get yourself a super cheap version of this with the Elf Baked Highlighter in “Blush Gems.” ($38 vs. $4)
8. For your everyday black eyeliner and an amazing bargain, try Wet n Wild’s Color Icon Kohl Liner Pencil instead of the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil. ($20 vs. $1)
9. Powder. You may hear everyone talking about how awesome the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder is, but you can get virtually the same matte finish with Elf’s High Definition Powder. ($38 vs. $6)
10. The newest, hottest trends right now are liquid lipsticks, and we all know that Kylie’s own line is one of the most popular. The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in “London” is almost an exact dupe for the Kylie Lip Kit in “Exposed”. ($29 vs. $5.99)
Although you may be tempted to follow the latest trends and spend all your money on those high-end beauty products, give these awesome dupes a chance and put that leftover money to a better use! You can look beautiful AND have enough money to get you a coffee for every day of the week.