There are several conclusions on the topic whether the E.L.F Blush/Bronzer Duo is the perfect dupe for the ever famous NARS Blush/Bronzer Duo in Orgasm and Laguna.
I love NARS Cosmetics and Orgasm blush is probably the first makeup product I've acquired from the brand. 4 empty pans later, I still find myself liking it. But of course, I've always preferred the Blush/Bronzer Duo for practical purposes.
When I saw the Blush/Bronzer Duo from E.L.F., the first thing that came to my mind was its counterpart from NARS. I immediately purchased one to see if the shades are tres tres similar to NARS. After all, the blush/bronzer duo from E.L.F. is only PhP249.50 (roughly about USD5) while the ones from NARS is USD42.
USD42 vs USD5 blush/bronzer duo
When you open the compact, you can see that the colors are not the same shade. Same family of color, perhaps. Basing from the colors, E.L.F. is definitely not a dupe for the NARS Blush/Bronzer duo. E.L.F. is also noticeably bigger than NARS. They both have big mirrors which I like especially when I use this to check on my face when I'm out. It's not that noticeable on the photo but they all have shimmer. Even the contour/bronzer.
Here's a little swatch fest. The first two swatches from the left is the NARS Blush/Bronzer duo while the other two is from E.L.F.
The blush from NARS has more shimmer. It's peachy-pink for me. The bronzer from NARS has shimmer from the pan but it's comes off as a sheen when swatched. Other times, it just looks plain matte on my cheeks or maybe I just don't notice the sheen that much.
The blush from E.L.F. is lighter and comes off as peach rather than pink. However, its bronzer is definitely darker and more reddish. If you apply too much on your face, it will look muddy.
Now, here are photos of the blush/bronzer duo translated on my cheeks. Excuse the ugly mugshots. I couldn't get the perfect natural lighting in my room. I scratched my eye because I forgot I had eye makeup on thus the uneven eyeshadow.
NARS Blush/Bronzer duo on your right.
E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo on your left.
NARS Blush/Bronzer duo on your right.
E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo on your left.
Photo with filter.
NARS Blush/Bronzer duo on your right.
E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo on your left.
Photo with filter.
NARS Blush/Bronzer duo on your right.
E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo on your left.
Photo with filter.
NARS Blush/Bronzer duo on your right.
E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo on your left.
For some reason. the blushes look almost the same on my cheeks. With two swipes each, the E.L.F. blush looks brighter on my cheeks. Although NARS Orgasm blush gives me a more natural flush even with two swipes. For the contour, I was quite careful on applying them cos I was scared it might look muddy. NARS Laguna was definitely easier to blend and looked more natural when blended with the blush while the E.L.F. bronzer took me more blending because the first swipe looked reddish brown already. I had to blend it more to tame down the shade and make it look natural. Bronzer was applied on my cheeks, jawbone, and temples of my face.
Both products have shimmer and even though they do not really show when initially applied on the cheeks, they tend to appear when you start to sweat or when your face starts to oil up and foundation is melting. I see my face shimmering in the afternoon so I stopped using it during summer and extremely hot days.
As for its longevity, I am quite impressed with E.L.F. as it an stay as long as 8 hours on my face without touch-up. The same goes for NARS but I am expecting its longevity because it is freaking expensive.
The packaging is the same although E.L.F. is slightly bigger than NARS. I think they did that on purpose. I love the packaging of E.L.F. more though because it's dust resistant unlike NARS. The first photo on this post shows how dirty my NARS compact is. As you all know, NARS packaging is dust absorbent.
The E.L.F. Blush/Bronzer duo may not be a total dupe for the NARS Blush/Bronzer duo but they are pretty much the same in several areas that they are easily mistaken as dupe for each other. They pretty much translate the same to my cheeks and I'm quite happy about that. NARS Blush/Bronzer duo is not available in Manila so I always have to ask my relatives to buy this for me in Sephora. E.L.F. is widely available here in Manila so I can easily buy this product as soon as I hit pan. All in all, I like the NARS blush/bronzer duo because of the fact that it looks more natural on my face as compared to E.L.F. It takes more effort for me to blend, blend, blend the E.L.F. blush/bronzer duo to avoid looking muddy.
If you have tried both products and they look the same on your cheeks, then it's really just a matter of preference. Do you want to spend or save? Let me know!
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You're right while looking at your photos,I can say that the one from nars looks more natural.Sometimes the price is really worth for a product to work.But I also love elf cosmetics because it's affordable yet works amazing
ReplyDeleteTrue! That's why I love Nars! :)
ReplyDeleteelf is not exactly a dupe, but performs well for its price. I like the elf's longevity too! the shades are definitely different like what you've said. I am darker than you, so the elf bronzer suits me well. i have to build up nars because i think the two shades fits fairer skin more. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue, true. But E.L.F. is not bad as an alternative :)
ReplyDeletei love this kind of post ms gem! hope to see more of this (dupes/alternatives)
ReplyDeleteYeh hopefully madagdagan yung ganto ko na posts :)
ReplyDeleteIf only NARS would be a bit more affordable. I only got one pressed powder from NARS which I purchased with my bonus two years ago and unfortunately, I haven't been able to get a new one until now. ELF may do for the time being. =)
ReplyDeleteThe thing with expensive makeup is that you feel like a million bucks when you have it on hehe :)
ReplyDeleteOo nga. Every time I use my "branded" lipstick it, feeling ko ang ganda ganda ko. (^-^)
ReplyDelete