The Best Drugstore Makeup Dupes Of 2023

Have you noticed more and more drugstore brands debuting products that are very similar to best-selling high-end luxury makeup products? Some are so similar that they can be called dupes.

Although not exactly like their high-end counterparts, these drugstore makeup dupes perform very similarly, whether a base makeup product, like foundation or concealer, or a color cosmetic product, like blush or mascara.

The one thing that consistently sets apart these dupes from luxury makeup products is the price.

The drugstore dupes listed in this post are half the price (or more!) than their equivalent luxury makeup products!

When you can buy an excellent makeup product for under $10, why spend 5x for the brand name?

Granted, luxury makeup products may also come with luxury packaging, but for me, that usually doesn’t warrant the price.

Now, onto the drugstore makeup dupes…

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This luxe primer is formulated with three different types of silk for a velvety smooth application.

It supports the skin’s barrier function, helps to prevent clogged pores and breakouts, and protects the skin from environmental aggressors.

It sinks into the skin, creating a blurred effect, and the result is the perfect canvas for makeup application.

Poreless Putty is formulated with squalane to moisturize and grip makeup for a smooth complexion. It minimizes imperfections to create a poreless look.

This drugstore primer has a balm texture just like The Silk Canvas and comes quite close in performance to The Silk Canvas.

Due to the popularity of this primer, e.l.f. has introduced multiple variations of this best-selling primer to address different skin concerns.

Additional options in the e.l.f. Poreless Putty family of primers include:

• Luminous Putty Primer for a more radiant complexion
• Matte Putty Primer for a shine-free matte complexion.
• Acne Fighting Putty Primer to fight acne and prevent future breakouts

Related Post: Milk Hydro Grip Primer Dupes

Inspired by charmeuse silk, this is a lightweight foundation that provides a beautiful skin-like finish.

Armani’s Micro–fil technology sculpts and brightens the skin, improves texture, and blurs imperfections. The foundation comes in 30 shades to match a variety of skin tones.

It contains 40% pure water for all-day hydration and L’Oreal’s Liquid Light Technology to provide a luminous glow.

The coverage is buildable and lasts up to 8 hours, and comes with an SPF 20. It’s available in 15 warm, neutral, and cool shades.

While Armani Luminous Silk Foundation is in a class of its own, if you want an affordable drugstore alternative, I think True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup is one of the closest dupes that you can find at such a low price.

It provides a pretty glow, and the lightweight coverage is buildable. You also get SPF 20 sunscreen protection with True Match Lumi Healthy Luminous Makeup.

To read more about these two products from Armani and L’Oreal and how they perform, check out this post.

It provides full coverage for up to 16 hours. It smooths and brightens the skin (especially around the eyes), and its formula is crease-proof and won’t cake on your skin.

Shape Tape is formulated with shea butter for elasticity, mango butter for moisture, and licorice root to brighten the look of dark circles and color correct the skin.

It also helps to blur the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

The oversized doe applicator makes application a breeze. It comes in a large selection of 30 shades to match all skin tones.

The concealer comes with a micro-corrector application sponge (I remove and apply the concealer to my finger first before applying it to my eyes).

The formula contains goji berry plus Haloxyl to increase blood circulation and improve the look of dark circles.

This is a full coverage concealer to erase dark circles, smooth fine lines, and reduce puffiness. This concealer comes in 12 shades.

While many other drugstore concealers are touted to be Shape Tape dupes (such as this one or this one), I think Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer performs better than any of the other dupe contenders.

The packaging may differ slightly from Shape Tape, but the coverage is highly pigmented, creases minimally, and stays put all day.

Related Post: Testing Drugstore Concealers as Alternatives to Tarte Shape Tape

Becca Sunlit Bronzer vs Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer

Becca Sunlit Bronzer provides a pretty sunkissed glow for all skin tones with its neutral undertones.

The shade Capri Coast is a warm golden brown that blends into your skin seamlessly for a natural bronze glow.

This bronzer is formulated with Color-True Pigments that provide a creamy, silky application that won’t cake or dry your skin.

The bronzer shown above in Light Bronze is formulated with murumuru butter, cupuacu butter, and tucuma butter from the Amazon to combine the best features of both powder and cream bronzers.

It contains essential fatty acids and pro-vitamins to moisturize the skin.

Murumuru Butter Bronzer applies very smoothly, and its soft-focus pigments really blur the skin. The tropical scent is the icing on the cake.

This bronzer is a high-performing dupe similar in shade and shape in the pan to Becca Sunlit Bronzer. Its formula is rich, and its texture is soft and smooth, easily melting into the skin.

While the packaging may be a little less elegant than Becca, the product performance makes up for it!

Related Post: Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector Dupes

Their best-selling shade, Orgasm (peachy pink with shimmer), has received so much press over the years and love from customers and beauty editors alike, and it has become one of the brand’s best-selling products.

This cult-favorite blush is formulated with superfine micronized powder pigments to impart a beautiful natural-looking glow.

I’m not a huge fan of peach on my cheeks, but the peachy-pink shade has just the right amount of shimmer for a soft, blendable finish. NARS blush comes in 32 shades.

This blush has gold fleck veining for a beautiful golden sheen. This blush is highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way.

For such a cheap price, what’s not to love?

Related Post: Nars Orgasm Blush Dupes

Urban Decay Naked3 Palette Eyeshadow Palette vs CoverGirl Roses TruNaked Eyeshadow Palette

Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palettes are so iconic when it comes to eyeshadow palettes, and they are priced for a luxury experience.

Urban Decay Naked3 Palette Eyeshadow Palette includes 12 rose-hued neutral eye shadows that range from matte to pearl to metallic shades.

You can use the award-winning palette for day-to-night looks with its richly pigmented shades.

Apply the matte shades all over the eyelid for contouring, and the metallics and shimmers add bold and striking dimension to your eyes. This is a gorgeous yet expensive eyeshadow palette.

This is also a neutral palette with rose hues throughout with matte, shimmer, and smoky shades.

There are only 8 shades in the CoverGirl palette, but quite a few shades are close to the Naked3 palette, from almond to deeper shades.

These eyeshadows are baked and richly pigmented (with a bit of dusty powder kickback).

It’s not quite the Naked3 palette, but these are beautiful neutral eyeshadow shades that are easy to mix and match for such a low price.

Related Post: The Best CoverGirl Drugstore Makeup Products

It Cosmetics Brow Power Micro Universal Defining Eyebrow Pencil vs Maybelline Brow Ultra Slim Defining Eyebrow Pencil

It Cosmetics Brow Power Micro Universal Defining Eyebrow Pencil is the micro-fine oval tip version of It Cosmetic’s best-selling Brow Power Pencil.

The micro-fine oval pencil tip provides the look of real hair with a micro-bladed effect. The pencil creates natural-looking brows, and the formula doesn’t budge.

This pencil comes in only one shade, Universal Taupe, which transforms all hair colors, including gray, depending on how much pressure is applied.

There is a built-in spoolie brush on one end of the pencil to complete your brow look.

This pencil has an ultra 1.5mm precision tip and a break-resistant formula for a smooth application.

Unlike It Cosmetic Brow Power Micro, this pencil comes in 6 shades, from light blonde to black-brown. This pencil also has a spoolie brush on one end to create defined brows to your liking.

I don’t love the one universal shade in the It Cosmetics pencil because depending on how much pressure you apply, your brows may look a slightly different shade from one application to the next.

Both provide a similar look, but for well less than half the price of It Cosmetics, Maybelline provides additional color options and creates a natural brow look.

This #1 best-selling prestige mascara in America is formulated with film-forming polymers to keep curls in place, Acacia Senegal Tree Extract for volume, and peptides for conditioning the lash.

Just one coat provides full, voluminous, and longer lashes. Lashes are thicker, lengthened, and lifted for a dramatic effect. This mascara comes in one shade: Carbon Black.

This mascara has a wavy brush that has 200+ bristles to create a full fringe effect. Lash Paradise creates volumized lengthened lashes with the formula’s black pigments.

This mascara dupe comes in 4 washable shades plus 2 waterproof shades.

Lash Paradise Mascara is a perennial drugstore favorite. (For more L’Oreal mascaras, see this post on the best L’Oreal mascaras.)

It leaves your lashes very soft, and the formula is buildable, so you can create a natural look with a single coat or a dramatic look with multiple coats.

Whether or not this was designed to be a dupe for Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, it comes very close at less than half the price.

For more Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara dupes, check out this post.

The shade Fenty Glow is a shimmering rose nude that provides a beautiful high-shine natural color.

It is formulated with shea butter to condition the lips and has a peach-vanilla scent that is absolutely mouth-watering and addictive.

The large application wand makes applying the gloss easy. It is available in 7 shades.

Super Lustrous Lip Gloss is also high shine and non-sticky. It contains agave, moringa oil, and capuacu butter for moisture and hydration.

This lip gloss is so shiny and natural-looking and very similar in shade to Fenty Glow.

There are 23 additional shades in the line. For more Fenty Gloss Bomb dupes, check out this post.

Related Post: Drugstore Makeup Starter Kit for Beginners

BECCA Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in Opal vs Wet N Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder in Precious Petals

BECCA’s award-winning highlighters are absolutely gorgeous. BECCA Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in Opal is a neutral white gold with soft pink pearl for medium to darker skin tones.

BECCA’s highlighters contain Ultrafine Multidimensional Pearls to reflect light from all angles to create that lit from within glow.

This highlighter has a creamy formula and provides a radiant glow without looking overdone.

Wet N Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder is formulated with micro-fine pearls, murumuru seed butter, shea butter & argan oil for a buttery luminous glow.

The Shade Precious Petals is close to BECCA’s Pressed Highlighter in Opal. The Wet N Wild highlighter feels like a much more expensive formula than it really is.

The cheap price and smooth and buttery formula of Wet N Wild MegaGlo Highlighter have me going back to purchase more shades.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder vs e.l.f. High Definition Powder

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder is a best-selling loose powder that creates a flawless finish with its finely milled matte finish.

It helps to extend makeup wear and blurs imperfections, creating a soft-focus effect.

This high-end loose setting powder absorbs excess oil and extends makeup wear for up to 16 hours without any heaviness or extra texture.

The powder comes in three shades: Translucent, Translucent Honey, and Translucent Medium Deep.

HD Powder doesn’t cake or create texture on the skin either, but it smooths your skin and helps to hide fine lines and other imperfections.

It comes in three shades: Sheer, Soft Luminance, and Corrective Yellow.

Related Post: The Best e.l.f. Cosmetics Makeup Products

Fans love it for its lovely creamy hydrating texture that reduces the look of fine lines, discoloration, and other imperfections.

It brightens under-eye darkness and corrects with a luminous finish and buildable coverage, and comes with a thin application wand which makes application around the eyes a breeze.

Like NARS, NYX HD Photogenic Concealer comes with a thin, precise application wand.

Unlike NARS, NYX HD Photogenic Concealer offers color-correcting shades of Yellow, Lavender, and Green.

The vegan formula is slightly thicker than the lightweight NARS concealer but has incredibly pigmented coverage and satiny finish similar to NARS but for a much lower price!

While NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer comes in 30 shades, NYX concealer is available in 23 shades.

For more NARS concealer dupes, check out my NARS Concealer Dupes post.

Final Thoughts on The Best of Drugstore Makeup Dupes

There you have it! A selection of some of the best makeup dupes out there.

Why pay top dollar for high-end makeup when you can purchase a very similar product for much less?

There are so many wonderful drugstore makeup products that are just as good and, dollar for dollar, often better than the luxury brands.

What do you think are the best drugstore dupes for your luxury makeup favorites?

Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

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