What over-hyped beauty product have you found a truly hype-worthy alternative for? One you wish people would obsess over instead?
NARS Orgasm–it’s pretty, don’t get me wrong–but Le Metier de Beaute’s Echo does it better, in my opinion!
Thanks to Mariella 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!
I agree, people go crazy for NARS Orgasm but it doesn’t scream out “buy me” to me. I don’t have an alternative because I’m trying to get more into blushes so my knowledge isn’t as extensive but I’m really happy with my Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Honey Dipped. Perfect bronzy color without the orangey color 🙂
I don’t own Stereo Rose but I do have Milani Rose D’Oro, and it’s quite nice! When I don’t know which cheek color to match my look, I’ll just grab Rose D’Oro!
But really, I don’t care for “dupes.” There are plenty of beautiful products out there that I’ll love. Except Jealousy Wakes. My birthday present will have to be 2 backups of that 😉
My MAC 187 barely sees the light of day since I got e.l.f.’s Studio Powder Brush. I reach for my $3 brush daily to apply cream or liquid foundation & honestly think it’s better suited to stippling, blending and buffing than it’s $42 predecessor.
Really? Lol, I returned my elf powder brush a soon as I tried a 187 for foundation.
Agreed, not a fan of all the ELF ones. Some are great true, but I haven’t found a serious contender for the 187, or 188 for that matter, yet.
I bought the NARS Laguna Bronzer due to the hype, but I ended up not loving it.I prefer a Bronzer from Mark which is flatter me way better, and not to mention how much cheaper it is.I guess a hefty price tag isn’t always an indication of how good/bad a product is.
I agree! I caved and wished I hadn’t. My Chanel and Bobbi Brown bronzers are so much better! Glad I’m not the only one!
but its also twice the price!:(
mine is nars orgasm as well… but i find that pinch o peach blush is hype worthy! its a gorgeous medium pink that flatters a lot of skintones
Mac shadows have got to be the most over hyped product ever. UD, inglot, and wet n wild all do it better
UD zero and Mac feline are said to be the blackest black liners, I’ve found Milani to be much better
Amen to The Milani Liquify Eye black eyeliner… That liner will stay on for 48 hours if you leave it!!
Or Avon supershock gel pencil so loved by pixiwoo
i bought milani liquifeye liners due to the hype. but the brown one just disappears within 2 hours on me. the gold one is really stable though. went 6-7 hours even after a good workout too. can anyone tell me if the black one would last longer than the brown one?
Prestige Intensifye liners as well. I don’t even bother with MAC or UD liners anymore, there are so many good long-last dupes now!
totally agree! they’re are sooooooo many other better eyeshadows out there like mufe, nars, EVEN WET N WILD! sooooooooo over mac!
Great list! And yes- I agree! And how about the new versions of Wet N Wild shadows? So pigmented and creamy!
WnW are awesome IMO. Haven’t bought a “high end” e/s since these came out. Price definitely doesn’t equal better.
MAC Feline flakes on me… I’ve never had that happen with anything other than mascara! UD’s 24/7 in Perversion is way better in my opinion. I’ll have to try Milani’s super-black liner, though, I’m always down for inexpensive alternatives that perform!
Pretty much all Benefit boxed powders.. ugh.
Agree with the Benefit boxes of so-called blush. They barely show up, as blush or highlighters. Waste of $$ IMO. I wanted to like them; Coralista is the only one that *might* be worthwhile, but again, it’s probably not a difficult color to dupe.
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners. Yes, they are remarkable and they have their own uniqueness with all those yummy colors….but Loreal Chrome metalic eyeliners does it just as well with the fraction of its cost, but unfortunately there are only 4 colors….black, purple, silver and gold….wish it had more basic colors. It is so waterproof also.
You should check out the new NYX slide on eyeliners! They come in basically the exact same colors and are a little less than half the price! They’re amazing quality and work just the same, maybe even a little bit better (:
1. MAC Painterly paint pot. I don’t like it. I accentuates my wrinkles and it creases 🙁
2. Urban Decay 24/7 glide-on eyeliners. They smudge and aren’t very soft.
Bare Study does this to me, and only one (maybe two) of the UD 24’7s don’t smudge or flake on me and Zero was the worst of the lot. I far prefer Milani, Prestige, Mark/Avon, Styli-Style, or NYX for liners.
Okay, people will kill me for saying this but I love my L’Oreal Telescopic but I’ve found the ELF Mineral Infused Mascara to be WAY better and gave me more volume, plus it’s much cheaper than the drugstore product.
MAC studio fix fluid 4 sure!! too over-hyped…
I love me some Urban Decay but I think Nars eyeshadow primer is better than UD primer potion. Also I don’t understand why some people make a big deal out of OPI nail polishes. There are better cheaper brands out like sally hansen or even wet n wild and I get the same amount of wear and color selection variety. I’m just sayin!
Over-hyped: MAC’s Carbon eyeshadow. Typographic (also from MAC) is SO much better. It’s a Matte2 formulation and those apply so beautifully and blend so well. Carbon is messy, patchy, doesn’t blend and isn’t even all that black.
Macs refined mac has a dupe in the prestige cosmetics baked bronzer in the shade pure shimmer. Let me simplify it for everyone. If they were both MAC eyehadows, refined would be a veluxe/ veluxe pearl and the prestige one would be a starflash…squared.
smashbox photo finish primer. Its lovely but at 28.00 quid a bottle its too much. I prefer lanacane chafing gel, 4,00 a tube and it lasts as long as the smashbox primer
over hyped= Naked palette. alternative: anything else lol. No really, I think Inglot shadows are waaaay better, you can shop around to find shade dupes and a ten pan is comparable in price.
MUFE aqua liners. I’d rather use the Smashbox Limitless eyeliner instead.
UDPP. Jesse’s Girl eyeshadow primer is just as good and WAY cheaper.
Agreed. UDPP is way over-rated. I like ELF’s eye primer, and Carmindy’s for SH, NYX Eye Base, Jesse’s Girl…. so many just as good if not better than UD’s.
Urban Decay 24/7 eye liner pencils. Milani Liquifeye pencils are so much better! The black is much blacker than the ever popular “Zero”, and it stays on my eyelids so much better! It even lasts all day on the waterline. Every eyeliner I have ever used transfers at least a little bit on my right lid because it is more “hooded” than my left eyelid, but Zero completely disappears on me! Milani transfers just the slightest bit and I highly recommend it!
Basically anything Urban Decay makes. I just looked at the new box they’re coming out with and am filled with a deep sense of frustration. I don’t get the deal with Urban Decay AT ALL!
I feel the same way! I think the whole brand is overhyped, and all they really have are a bunch of glitterball eyeshadows and liner pencils that don’t draw on the waterline. Thanks but I’ll pass on the fall out. No one talks about any of their other products so they must really be atrocious.
I could rant for an hour about UD. I have no idea why anybody likes it. >_<
Omg thank you for posting this. I cannot stand UD, all of their packaging is horribly tacky and thier products are subpar.
In all, I don’t understand any of the hype towards this brand.
Add me to the UD list. I think I’m just the wrong age market for them. Everything is glittery, or bright, or both, or completely dupeable (Naked palette anyone?). I also remember when UD was on par with Hard Candy (yes, the stuff now at WalMart! That said, I like quite a few of the new HC and find some it comparable to MAC, the blushes and bronzers are great dupes for MSF’s, in fact.)
Oh man, I feel like I have to throw my 2 cents into the mix, since I love UD and their products really work for me. Love the cream blushes, the lip glosses, lip liners, the eyeshadows, eyeliners (pencil and liquid), etc… I’ve tried a lot of products from the line over the last ten years and have only encountered a couple of duds, most of which are quickly reformulated or replaced with a more innovative product; yes, the packaging is showy and highly stylized, but I don’t see it as a gimmick; I think they’re playing into their vision of what makeup is for people. Honestly, I don’t get the hype about MAC; just about everything you guys have said about UD I have said about MAC at some point. I honestly don’t understand why some products work so well for some people, and not at all for others; I guess it’s just differences in body chemistry, application techniques, etc… Lucky for us there are so many cosmetics companies to choose from!
I totally agree with NARS Orgasm. La Femme – Blush On Rouge and Sleek make excellent dupes that are more pigmented in that shade.
MUFE HD Power – Elf HD Powder works just as well!!
Also, Smashbox Photofinish primer…the Monistate anti-chafing gel works wonders!
ELF eyelid primer
I don’t own udpp or twoface ones but i think any cheaper primer should do the same job right?!
I don’t think a cheaper one would necessarily do the job but the ELF eye shadow primer DEFINITELY does for me… and I’m talking about the $1 one, not even the mineral one. I tried UDPP and was not impressed. It held my eye shadow on maybe for an hour but the ELF primer can last a full day for me!
I have the smashbox photo finish lid primer and it SUCKS compared to my ELF eyelid primer. $20 verses $1?? The logical choice is ELF.
Even though I did purchase the 15th UD eyeliner pencils… Milani Liquify Eye Pencils are the $%#&!!! I’m a collector can’t help it… UD 24/7 pencils dont budge much on me but the Milani ones are way better hands down!
Hot Mama is way prettier than Orgasm, and ANY face primer is better than Smashbox (unless you have a pimple fetish). touche eclat you can dupe by blending a dab of both ends on the maybelline double ended age rewind concealer.
I totally second this! I am so addicted to the Balm’s Hot Mama! its more pigmented and less glitter. My ultimate fav!
🙂
and I think Hot Mama is nothing compared to the silkiness and pigmentation on the shadows mmmm
I found a really pretty coral-pink blush by Accessorize (bronzing block shade 3) and it’s way prettier than Orgasm (I did a post on it on my blog by the way). In fact I have many coral-pink blushes that are way prettier than Orgasm, lol.
UDPP and TFSI – NARS Eyeshadow Primer blows them out the water
Lancome Artliner – Revlon’s Colorstay Liquid Liner is way better!
MAC Lip Glasses – don’t get me started, there are so many better glosses!
Too Faced Eyeshadow Collections. You know, the ones in the box? They’re beautiful, and a great value don’t get me wrong. But they’re easily dupeable with something by Wet N’ Wild or even a NYX palette for a fraction of the cost. Plus, I find the packaging kind of tacky and overly done tbh…
Honestly, I don’t understand all the love for OPI polishes. I’m not crazy about the formula and they dry out and become unusable more quickly than anything else in my collection. (Like Mad as a Hatter for instance–drop-dead gorgeous glitter but I only had it for a few months before it started clumping up in the bottle..heartbreaking. x.x)
My favorite alternative is the Sinful Colors line you can pick up at drugstores. It’s only $4 a bottle (and often less with sale prices!) and they’ve consistently outperformed my “higher-end” polishes. In fact, I’m wearing Boogie Nights now–perfect for summer!
Eva, you can add some nail polish thinner to your Mad as a Hatter and make it like new again. I even use thinner in some brand new polishes with a formula that’s thicker than I like. Most beauty supply stores (Sally Beauty, included) carry it. It’s a staple item for me. I’ve got OPI and other brands of polish that are several years old and good as new. Hope you can find some and revive your Mad as a Hatter!
I strongly second the use of nail polish thinner. It’s working wonders.
Thanks for the heads-up! 😀 Someone suggested using polish remover and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, haha! Can’t wait to try thinner instead–it would be so nice to use that polish again!
Boogie Nights is gorgeous, I have it on right now! 🙂
Sinful Colors is an amazing nail polish brand. I prefer it over a nearly $10 OPI polish. Longer wear, pretty colors. Quality over brand, in this case!
overhyped: MAC Feline – better alternative: MAC Engraved (blacker and more water-resistant)
overhyped: UD Naked palette – better alternative: a selection of 12 MAC e/s that are close to the UD Naked e/s (due to UD being unavailable here in Germany and trying to hunt it down has only given me major headaches but no UD Naked palette)
overhyped: MAC Fascinating – better alternative: MAC I Get No Kick (more natural)
overhyped: MAC Carbon – better alternative: MAC Black Tied (blacker, doesn’t oxidize on me and I can do with a little bit of glitter anytime, no need to reach for a matte)
• R&R Call Me over NARS Orgasm.
• Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy over UDPP.
• La Femme Rouge on Blush over M·A·C Blushes.
• Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation SPF 42 PA+++ over Estée Lauder Double Wear (in term of staying power).
• M·A·C Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder over MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microfinish Powder.
• Milani Rose Hip over NARS Schiap.
• Panasonic Heated Eyelash Curler over Shu Uemura, Shiseido or any eyelash curler!
• Benefit Posietint over Benetint.
• NARS Nico over Albatross.
• Milani Liquif Eye over UD 24/7 or MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Eyes.
Thanks for sharing all your finds! I’ve been curious about the Panasonic Heated Eyelash Curler.
MAC Feline eye kohl. It is majorly black-which I love- but it runs like a mother so what’s the point? I just set it with nyx black shadow. But I wouldn’t have bought it if I knew it ran so badly. UD zero doesn’t seem to run on me. But I am looking into gel eyeliner for maximum staying powder.
So I’m a huge fan of Laguna by NARS but yesterday on a whim I got the ELF look alike and for literally one dollar I got an amazing dupe for it. These two are almost identical on and swatched so from now on I’m just gonna buy the ELF one.
These were totally different animals for me. It’s funny how YMMV on so many things that we call ‘duplicates’. The ELF Laguna dupe was dark and muddy on me, Laguna isn’t. Their Orgasm dupe wasn’t too bad though 🙂 not exact, but close. I found HotMama lighter and more shimmery than O, but not glittery, if that makes sense. The best dupe of O was probably the original Milani Luminous blush. They were fools to get rid of that one.
Hard Candy’s blushes and bronzers like Bombshell, Pin-up, Hot Date, etc., are excellent dupes for MAC MSF’s. So are Revlon’s powder mineral illuminators. I just wish they each made more shades like MAC does.
Now if someone would make a decent Lightscapade dupe, I’d be in heaven! That’s the only one I cannot find anywhere else.
Philosophy Hope in a Jar. I bought this because everyone loved it and went crazy over it… I have combination skin, so when my skin is dry, it seems to work okay. However, when my skin is normal/oily, it is too heavy and breaks me out. Also, it smells terrible.
haha ! I love Nars Orgasm ! The overhyped product for me is Bare Essentials mineral powder. On me, I feel I have a layer of cakey powder and it stains anything that barely touches my face !