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MAC Fabulous Felines: Comparisons & Dupes

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
To Pamper vs. Call My Bluff

MAC Fabulous Felines: Comparisons & Dupes

Here are just some comparisons/dupes I did when I filmed the video review for the collection 🙂 They’re really just the dupes I talked about in the reviews.  I wish I could do things like this more often, but it’s usually all about getting photos/swatches of the collection up as quickly as possible since I’m doing it either the afternoon before the launch or on launch day.

I figure it’s more important that you see everything swatched and reviewed, so at least you might be able to use it before everything sells out!  I try to call out possible dupes in the review itself and link to past swatches when they’re available instead–I just want everything to be done when the collection is relevant, not a week later when several things have sold out!  Trade-offs, trade-offs… sigh!  Wish it wasn’t so.

Ironically, to me, most of these aren’t dupes, but to me, a dupe is something about 99% similar, not 80 or 90%!  The term dupe definitely seems to mean something different depending on the person.  What does “dupe” mean to you?

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
Saint German, Of Royalty, Viva Glam Gaga, Saint Germain

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
Dainty, Pet Me

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
Powerful, Infused With Glam

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
Almondine, A Quiet Roar, Gold Rebel, Schemer, Gold Dust

MAC Fabulous Felines Dupes
Ripe Peach, Utterly Game

79 Comments

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Edelmc Avatar

I have just discovered your website and I am in Love! I have been a MAC addict for a long time and your swatches and information are fantastic. I went out and bought stars n rockets eye shadows after reading about it here and its an amazing shade. I am planning on picking up a few pieces of the new collection next week and I was wondering if you think pet me is different enough from dainty to justify buying it. I love dainy and pet me seems slightly pinker in your comparision picture…..

Mai Avatar

WoW! I am soooo glad you did these comparisons! I knew about Pet me and Call my Bluff (also my MA compared it to Fresh Brew). I was ready to go back and get Schemer (even though I have Gold Dust). But now, I can rest assured that I am not doing that!

Thank you for doing what you do!

Christine Avatar

When I am able to preview a collection, I have time, but in general, I don’t get to review a collection until it launches in store – and then it’s just working as fast as possible to get photos/swatches/review of the collection up as soon as possible, so I really don’t get an opportunity to do much more than that! Sorry!

aradhana Avatar

thanks for this post christine! i’m sure many others will also find it useful!
i’m surprised there aren’t dupes for some of the darker lippies as well?

aradhana Avatar

the only items i was considering from this bunch were powerful and utterly game, so i can happily cross out the latter. i don’t have infused with glam, so i haven’t crossed off powerful yet, but i might stick with the darker fall tones for now and see how i feel next week! 😉

Christine Avatar

Hey Erica,

Both of those are swatched, so you can bring up the pages and compare that way 🙂 I’m just not realistically able to take individual swatch requests (I get about 100 per day), so I try to do ones that I think are most common when I’m able to, but all of my swatches from the past year or so are very much shot in the same light, technique, etc. so it’s a lot easier to cross-compare. Thanks for understanding! 🙂

Zenaida Avatar

I love this. I love it just for that fact that I can see what I can skip because I already have something similar if not the same. I can also see things I can gather if I want something but don’t have the money for and it sold out. The liners of this collection were my definates and I don’t have money to get much more than that so it’s nice to know I can wait on some of the lip products and cheeks.

Pamela Avatar

I passed up Infused with Glam when it came out but yesterday I ended up buying Powerful. I knew that you said they were identical but I still spent the money. Now that I’m looking at your comparison pics I’m thinking “Sometimes MAC really p*sses me off!”

aradhana Avatar

that is really an odd one. but i guess they couldn’t have the cat theme name in the dazzle collection, now could they? 😉

incidentally christine, do you think infused w glam/ powerful could work on a nw35/nw40 complexion? i want to venture out, but feeling a bit uncertain and not ready to look like someone’s aunt just yet.

Fiaspice Avatar

I really love this post. I think it’s usefull when you’re on a tight budget and you can find a dupe something similar in the permanent line so you don’t have to ruin yourself to get it when it’s out.

Diane Avatar

VERY cool, especially providing the photos…. you saved me money since I already own Dainty and don’t need another blush. Thank you!!!

Keener Avatar

This is great to have. I to tend to gravitate towards a certain colour range but I definitely don’t want too many similar products. But obviously when you’re in search of the perfect pink lipstick, neutral, etc, you’ll get every variation to see which works.

I’m not sure I use the word “dupe” very often or even at all. I’ll say something is similar. I really want Call My Bluff now. That might be MY perfect nude… the search continues.

Courtney Avatar

I was so glad when you pointed out earlier how To Pamper looks like Call my Bluff (which also looks like Fresh Brew). I happened to have CMB in my purse to swatch them side by side and I got the same results as you. I actually like To Pamper slightly more than CMB…but I don’t need THREE of the same shade!

Natassia Avatar

Hey Christine!!
I was wondering if the “utterly games” blush is similar to mac LE “Goddess” (from the raquel welch 07 collection)? If so how much they look alike? i hope you remember the blush im talking about =)

Tekoa Avatar

Dainty and Pet Me are rather similar! Similar enough that Pet Me is removed from my list and Utterly Game is added. Thank you for your service to humanity.

Rae Avatar

Holy cripes, Powerful and Infused With Glam look *exactly* the same (at least on my monitor!)

I guess I usually define “perfect dupes” as products that are the exact same in shade, finish, wear, etc, and “dupes” as products that are the same in just one or two of those categories. But I also try to avoid products that are “pretty much dupes” to things that I already have, ie those that look the same when they’re on!

Shelley Avatar

to me a dupe is an exact match, like Powerful and Infused with Glam. The others are soooooo similar, that I like to know of the extreme similarities, but I can tell, for instance that the blushes will not look the same on my skin, even tho they are very similar. I like to see these in swatches cuz it helps me to decide what I don’t need…like had I seen this before I ordered, I wouldn’t have purchased Of Royalty, although the tone looks better for me than the others, but i already have the others, ya know?

I know it’s a lot of work but could you do similarity swatches for the quads? I’m trying to decide if I need the Burmese Beauty quad or if I can find similar substitutions.

Carrie Ann Avatar

I could be wrong, but I think Of Royalty is actually pretty similar to Angel. Pet Me looks closer to Hipness than Dainty, and Utterly Game looks a lot more orange than Ripe Peach. Ripe Peach is actually pretty coral. Powerful and Infused w/ Glam are exactly the same! Gold Dust and Gold Rebel also look exactly the same. Thanks for the dupes/comparisons. They’re definitely fun/interesting to look at. 🙂

Bizznitch Avatar

What does ‘dupe’ mean to me? It’s irritating makeup jargon for duplicate. Maybe it’s supposed to sound urban or something.

Also on my shit list:
‘haul’ (makes me want to ‘hurl’ – very consumerist)
‘color payoff’ – how about intensity?
‘shimmers’ – a product has shimmer, but not it doesn’t have shimmers. Shimmer is a verb. People who say a product has lots of shimmers should be saying it has lots of shimmer particles in it, unless it has many types of shimmer to it. It’s like fish/fishes.
‘lippies’ – let’s all be grown-ups and call them lipsticks or lip glosses

I’m sure I can think of more. Let me add here that I really enjoy reading you and watching your YouTube videos because you tend to avoid or at least minimize the use of these bizarre and overused jargon gems.

Another pet peeve, while I’m on a roll: I hate it when people can’t be bothered to learn vocabulary and go about mispronouncing stuff and being unrepentant about it.

Examples:
So Ceylon. Ceylon is a type of tea. It’s a tea-coloured MSF.
Gesso: Gesso (jess-oh) is Italian for chalk. It’s a chalk white eye shadow.

We don’t have to be stupid makeup-obsessed ditzes (which you are not, Christine). Regain intelligence, women and men of the makeup world! My makeup hero is Eddie Izzard. Intelligent, well-read and incredibly quick-witted, this man also rocks a mean smoky eye.

BeckBeck Avatar

I can clearly see the difference between Pet Me and Dainty in your heavy swatch… but on my face I bet they’d be indistinguishable, especially as lightly as I wear blush. Thanks for these comps, they’re definitely illuminating!

Karen Avatar

This is the reason why we love you!! Thanks for the swatches. I’ve been wonderin about that Utterly blush since someone said to me its kind of similar to ripe peach but warmer. I think I’m going to get it. 🙂

Ashley D. Avatar

Now these are actual dupes! Thanks for doing this Christine, I’m actually not gonna buy anything from this collection (I broke my MAC LE routine)

Suzie Avatar

Im such a hypocrite- if it was an eyeshadow or a blush dupe, or even a non pink lipstick, that was as close as gaga and of royalty, i would tell myself I didnt need it. but i am just so dang addicted to pink lipstick…. its a problem

cmferrets Avatar

thanxs for the comparisopn swatches. i did have to swatch like crazy some of them in the store to compare w/ ones i have at home.
similiar but NOT the same:
quite roar = almondine (much whiter)
schemer (much darker yellow)= gold dust (yellower), gold rebel (peachier)
docile = icescape (frostier pink)
lap of luxury (purplish)= on display/ quick tease (purple rasberryish)
too pamper (much paler) = call my bluff/fresh brew
of royalty (pale pink) = colour crafted (peach pink)
pet me please (pinker)= high strung

Dead on dupes: (both dazzle l/s)
powerful = infused w/ glam
superior = sweet bits

these i think are dupes, ill have to swatch test them again:
spree = liqueur
kittenesh = tribalist
cunning = full body

hope these helped.

Jessie Avatar

For me I think a dupe is anything that looks the same when WORN, I can see it swatched and be like “Yeah that is different” but if I put it on my lips or eyes and can’t tell the difference then I think it’s a dupe. Afterall, you wear it on your face… not on the back of your wrist haha.

Ju Avatar

Dupes are pretty much the shame color for me.

Love yours reviews with the overall, the recommandations, the skip, bref all the things ! Really impressive and hepfull ! Thank you soo much !

Meesh Avatar

I was swatching all my lipsticks today and ‘Drive Me Wild’ looks identical to ‘Trillz’! Trillz is obviously a frostier finish when you layer on the color, it’s got a bronzer look to it. But if you apply both lightly, they look the same. So definitely skip Drive Me Wild if you have Trillz. I wish I realized that earlier. *sigh*

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