Possibly a Drugstore Dupe for NARS Madrague

Pin It The feeling of wanting a high end product when you don't have the money can sometimes be frustrating.  After all, buying prestige product feels satisfying for a certain amount of time until something new comes along.  Yet, the human is curious and drugstore makeup is right there and easily accessible.  I for one do like to peruse the drugstore stuff and try out lines to see how they compare to pro and high end stuff.  One line I had been curious about was Jordana Cosmetics.

It is a very affordable line with a small selection of eyeshadows. In the stores I go to like Walgreens, the selection of the line is very slim, just a bunch of pencils and eyeshadows.  The eyeshadow duos particularly the Color Effects Eyeshadow Duos in Good Match caught my attention.  Yeah, I know another neutral and maybe for some boring but it is a staple if you are into the neutral/natural look.

 
For about $3.49 this matte duo is not bad.  The colors are a soft ivory cream and a caramel.  Sometimes, I find drugstore mattes very chalky and scratchy.  The powder doesn't lay right on the skin and just looks awful.  This one is great for a drugstore brand.  I admit it isn't as silky to the touch as high end nor is it as pigmented but it does its job as a good neutral duo.

Looking at NARS Madrague, you can see they are very similar.  If you aren't picky about color then you can say it is a pretty good dupe that is 10x's less in price.  However for the picky ones this is what I find different.  Yes, texture of NARS is much silkier.  The pigment is much better.  Colorwise, Jordana leans towards the yellow spectrum but only slightly.  If I didn't have the Madrague, I would say it was just neutral.  Madrague when seen alone may look warm when it is actuality is a touch cooler in tone meaning there is a very slight undertone of pink/beige.  But it is so slight that it really wouldn't matter much.

Here, you can see on a cotton round the slight difference.  Jordana looks a touch warm and yellow while NARS is more on the soft cool beige side.

So do you pick the drugstore or high end? NARS costs $34 and Jordana costs about $3.40.  Does this pique your curiosity?

*special thanks to Brelki

Jordana Good Match Ingredients: Talc, Silica, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Methicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Zeolite, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, C12-18 Acid Triglyceride, Sorbic Acid, Synthetic Beeswax, Hexylene Glycol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate. +/-May Contain: Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Carmine (CI 75470), Zinc Oxide (CI 77947), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Chromium Oxide Greens (CI 77288), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140).

NARS: Talc, Polyethylene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Tricaprylin, Ceresin, Aqua/Water/Eau (Water), Lanolin (Lanolin Alchohol), Lecithin, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), May Contain (+/-):, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289) (CI 77289), Chromium Oxide Green (CI 77288), Carmine (CI 75470) (CI 75470), Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide (CI 77510) (CI 77510), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163) (CI 77163), Aluminum Powder (CI 77000) (CI 77000), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090) (CI 42090), Yellow 5 Aluminum Lake (CI 19140)