Velvet Teddy Dupe?! | The January Lipstick Edit

Now when I originally planned and photographed this post it was going to be about my 2 favourite lip products this month, however when swatching and photographing the 2 products I came to a very sudden realisation.. they're pretty much the same?! Oh the irony of my 2 favourite lipsticks being so similar it's crazy, and me never actually really noticing. Now the whole bloggersphere pretty much owns Mac Velvet Teddy, not only is it a gorgeous nude but it's also a staple makeup product for me and I literally take it everywhere, but are you ready to hear about the product that's so similar it scared me? I even included swatches (which I never do) for you all to see just how similar they really are.

These first swatches are of a lip product that I've used for quite a while, it's the 'Essence matte longlasting lipgloss'. This was just under £3 and I can't quite remember why I got it in the first place, but I adore it. Okay yeah it's not an amazing product, I mean it comes off quite easily and it deffo doesn't live up to the longlasting aspect but for the price it's pretty damn good and I will continue to buy and use it regardless. It's got quite a creamy formula which is handy if you suffer with dry lips and it smells beautifulll, however it doesn't set onto your lips, it just kind of sits there. So let's have a look at the swatches for this...

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Now let's move on to the swatches of my dearest Velvet Teddy...

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How much difference can you see? Because personally I struggled at first. The essence one is a slightly more pinkish than Velvet Teddy, but most people (my Nan for example) couldn't notice the difference, it's probably just us little old addicts that'd pick out something so barely noticeable. Velvet Teddy lasts a long longer, goes on a lot better and has better pigmentation but costs about £16, which I know some people struggle to afford. However it doesn't just sit on your lips and make you scared to drink out of a glass incase it all comes off, it sets quite well and I'm not scared it's going everywhere 24/7. Personally I'm going to keep buying both, I've come to the conclusion that my Mac one I'll use daily and the Essence one more for nights out, so in my drunken state if I lose it at least I didn't lose the more expensive of the two. I'm not going to recommend one to you guys, obviously the better of the two is the Mac one, however if you love the colour of Velvet Teddy and don't want to splash out the money then this Essence one is honestly a perfect dupe.

Have you used either of these products before? What do you think of the similarity between the swatches? I was honestly beyond shocked that I'd never noticed before, just goes to show I suppose. I have a few more dupe posts planned for some high end products that are way out of some peoples budgets, so follow me on bloglovin HERE if you want to see them when they're posted! I'm new to talking about dupes but I know a fair few people can only dream of some of the high end products I use, so it's only fair that I share some pretty similar dupes for them.

Isabelle

xxx