Have you ever bought the same shade again on accident? What do you do?
I have done it once or twice, but generally, my memory is pretty good. At least with makeup…
Thanks to Suzanne for today’s question! Got a question idea? Submit yours here.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
OMG YES! I bought Pink Venus TWICE!
I guess I didn’t remember that I owned it because I had it in the Fafi quad. When I realized it, it was too late and I had already depotted it.
What sucks most is that I don’t even like Pink Venus. WORST MAC EYE SHADOW EVVVVERR!
Aw, it’s gorgeous!
LOL! You too? I got Pink Freeze, TWICE.!!
Only once, and recently to boot! I purchased Vibrant Grape a second time thinking I didn’t have it. It’s okay, the new Vibrant Grape seems a touch different from the once I bought years ago.
i bought sushi flower by MAC twice by mistake, i just get so overwhelmed!
yes, brule twice the same day… silly, dont do it at home!!!
I actually bought Humid three times, its the only product I’ve done that with. I guess I really love that color.
I have a twice but not e/s, with a glitter liner and eyeliner but just keep as backups.
I keep almost buying Zoya’s Kalista again. For some reason my mental polish inventory always skips that I have it.
Never. I am good at keeping track of my collection.
no, but once when I went to grab the color lipstick I wanted, I took the wrong color.
I did it with a nail polish. I’m seriously thinking of carrying a master list of all my shades in my purse.
Hmm, well yes but not on accident. I’ve had a couple of products that I gave away and swapped only to purchase them again later thinking I might like them.
I’ve accidentally bought multiples of a similar color in different colors and brands. A few that come to mind are Chanel Pagoda and Pleasing and MAC Viva Glam V.
Lucky no, though I have bought dupes without realising I don’t have a HUGE make-stash.
I’ve bought dupes of a shade quite a few times, but haven’t bought the exact same thing twice unintentionally…yet.
I bought one of the Viva Glam lipsticks twice, not realizing I already had it. That’s okay, though. It was for a good cause and I just gave the 2nd one to my mom. I knew it would look good on her. Oh, I also did that with Vapour eyeshadow. After that, I made a list of all the MAC products I own to keep track, especially since they often repromote limited edition shades.
I have bought shades that are so similar and that I thought I need more of since I love the color so much!
I did just recently. I was at the Guerlain counter when they had a promo of buying one Rouge G and get the second lipstick half the price. I was not familiar w/ the numbering system but I do memorize their names so I accidentally bought Giulette and I just realized it when I was at home.
Only once that I can recall. Bought EL Mocha Cup eyeshadow when I already had it in a palette.
No.. but I bought a permanent mac shade not as a refill, because I thought, that it belonged to a limited edition. 🙁 it was shale.
No, but I’ll buy different lipsticks from different brands, but they would all end up being the ‘same’ shade.
No the exact shade by name, but virtually similar shades of nail polish, by different companies, which can be disappointing to find I have something almost the same at home.
More than once, yes. I know I “accidentally ” have two or three Laura Mercier Topaz eyeshadows in different palettes.
Yes, a couple of times. The last one was a chanel quad that i didn’t really like that much, which was the reason i had never used it and didn’t remember i had it. It looked lovely in the store though, and swatched lovely. We don’t have a return policy here either, so now i’m stuck with two expensive palettes that i never use.
Oh dear god, yes, I have done this many times with both permanent and LE products! It’s a real slap in the face – “uhm, I think you have a problem… “
I bought MAC’s Tete-a-Tint twice. Once in a pan, and once in a single (with pot). Second time was probably when I found MAC on sale by accident, and I got a bit overwhelmed. 🙂 At least it’s a great shade and wonderful texture…
Similar shades that I’ve recently discovered I own: Bobbi Brown Golden Leaf (LE, I believe), MAC Sumptuous Olive and Chanel Khaki Vert. Different brand, somewhat different texture, but…basically all the same colour lol.
I just did that with my NARS Sex Machine Velvet Matte pencil, but it’s a staple and I love it so it’s ok.
Not by accident really…its the Urban Decay palettes!
My friend bought me one for my birthday, I only had seven out of the ten colours! I am now the proud owner of three ‘flipsides’, even though i find that colour sheer and har to work with 🙁
I had a big MAC splurge a few weeks ago and spent $500 on stuff and I got like A LOT of stuff. Anyway I accidentally got another Wedge eyeshadow instead of Embark somehow and now I have 2. The weird thing is that the 2 Wedge’s I own are different. One of them is really soft and easy to use, while the other is hard and has little color payoff. It’s no big deal though, I’m fine with having 2 and the harder one is fine when used wet.
I almost bought Mythology e/s twice. I did not remember having it, but it was sold out at the time, and I was saved!
I did this with an OPI nail polish color, “Just a Little Rosti” (I think is the name). Sadly, I bought the two bottles within weeks of each other. I returned it to Ulta and felt like an idiot when I said “I realized I already had this color….”
I have only done that a few times but it is so annoying because I couldve saved that money for new colors. LOL
Never by accident, but I have 3 MAC e/s (Showstopper, Notoriety and Skintone 2) twice, because they were used in the premade quads. The next one will be Brule, because I of the Caviar Dreams quad.
nope! i keep a list for each category of products i own on my Blackberry, such as lipsticks, paint pots, eyeshadows, lipglosses, etc… this is the best way to keep track of my 49 MAC eyeshadows, 15 lipglasses, 10 paintpots, 10 lipsticks as i always have my phone on me and i pop it out and go through my lists whenever i’m at a MAC counter/store.
Not from the same brand. I might have very similar shades but they’re from different brands.
Yes and by accident, and to be more specif single shadows from MAC; I realized they were already on a palette I had bought before; so there was not really a point to have double.I have returned them.
yes…lol! Revlon lipgloss in pink pop (one of the 4 that came out this summer). I also bought Revlon Colorburst lipstick in peach again instead of coral….ahhh! lol.
Oh Lord, I bought MAC’s Springsheen blush three times, the second time i didn’t realize i already had it,and the third time the MUA at the MAC store put it in my bad by mistake… it seems it just wants to come home with me! Stalker blush!:)
Yes! I bought Showstopper not remembering that I already had it in a holiday palette…EVERY TIME I go to MAC, I always pick up all the shadows thinking, “this is a pretty shade!” and 8/10 times it’s one I already own. I guess I think I have good taste? 😛
I bought tempting when it came out with Style Warriors, not realizing it was already in my palette that I got from Cult of Cherry.
I did this with MAC’s Oddysey once.
I bought it at a MUA’s suggestion.
Then when trying to figure out what to get for a Back to MAC, I ended up having another MUA suggest it and got it a 2nd time.
Well not the same product but the same shade a million times
Yes 😉 If I dont have my “MAC-list” with me it has happend….
My little sister think it´s great by the way, she know I let here have it 🙂
Yes I did! Omg I was so embarresed I didn’t tell my dad (who was with me while I was buying it). It was a mac eyeshadow, kid. Luckily my best friend wanted the shade too so she bought it from me.
Yeah!! I work at J.Crew and we have “exclusive” Essie colours and I bought a four-pack and one of the colours is EXACTLY the same as Hot Coco by Essie.
i’ve bought dupes of the same colors, but i do this willingly because different brands have different qualities. lol
I’ve never actually purchased the exact same item accidentally, but I tend to stick to only a few brands because I am always attracted to the same colors. If I let myself loose in Sephora, I would come out with 12 different brands of the same shade of coral lipstick!
lol, yes… I have 5 Mac Wedge eye shadows to prove it. No idea why, I will never use 5 in a lifetime!
Yes! When I first discovered MAC I would go from counter to store to counter sometimes buying the same e/s or blush. I was a crazed addict not keeping track of what I was buying. How shameful!
Yes, unfortunately I have. I accidentally bought MAC’s Dame and Tempting twice. Not a clever thing to do when money is in short supply. With Dame I bought it forgetting I already had it, and with Tempting I had accidentally pressed the buy button twice and because it was a fairly big order I didn’t notice before I paid.
never singles, but in pallets
Like an idiot, I just did this yesterday at MAC!! I bought another Nocturnelle. Oh well, I know I’ll use it.
pink freeze 2x swish 2x DOH
OMG Just yesterday i bought Amber lights e/s by mac only to come home and realize that i have another pan in my pallette xD
Actually, I have never bought the same shade twice for I am very aware of what I have so when I do shop for makeup, I am very mindful with my future purchases.
Bare Study paint pot, realized it the other day when I was going through my drawers!
Never the same product twice but the simular shades yes. I bought China Glaze Grape Pop only to later buy OPI’s Funky Donkey…they are the same color
Never! If it happened, I would offer it to a friend of mine or create a contest for one of my readers to win it.
Yes once, not because I forgot I had it though. I was looking at OPI Russian Navy vs OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue. I already owned Russian Navy and was debating getting the other one. Of course, somehow I end up putting the wrong one back on the shelf and buying the one that I already own
I haven’t actually purchased the same shade again since I have a great memory, but I do notice that at MAC, I reach for the same colors over and over! Just last night, I thought “oh this is a fabulous nude!” and realized I picked up Creme d’Nude, which I already own. It happens so routinely now that I try to guess which one it is!
Bought Naked Lunch twice. Thought I had All That Glitters at home, but that’s the one I actually should have bought!
i havent… my sister accidently bought plum dressing twice… her loss was my gain… i got the extra. too bad the color sucks and has no pay off…