The best drugstore dupes for makeup, according to YouTubers

For many of us, spending outrageous sums of money on makeup when we know there are comparable drugstore dupes just around the corner is unimaginable. While we’ll be the first ones to justify a costly designer handbag or pair of boots, we can’t wrap our brains around spending $60 on a liquid foundation when there is a bevy of near-identical options available for less than $10.

In our eternal quests to save money and look flawless, we turned to three YouTube beauty gurus to check out their drugstore dupe recommendations. For look-alike products from Nars, Armani Beauty, Laura Mercier, and more, here are the cost-friendly dupes these women swear by.

According to YouTube beauty influencer Shelbey Wilson, the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Silk Foundation Elixir “reminds [her] of a better version of Armani’s Luminous Silk [foundation].”

“This formula is so comparable in my opinion. It has that super liquidy light-weight feel to it but it gives a decent amount of coverage.” Wilson said, “I have been going for [it] daily and I’ve always thought was a beautiful formula.”

Price-wise, Physicians Formula’s Organic Wear Silk Foundation Elixir is $15.99 versus Armani’s luxurious Luminous Silk foundation, which sits at $64.

As for multi-purpose sticks, which can be used for anything from blush and highlighter to eyeshadow and lipstick, Wilson compared e.l.f. Cosmetics‘ ultra-affordable Monochromatic Multi-Stick and Nars’ iconic The Multiple.

“Formula-wise, these products are so similar in the feel, the texture, the way they look,” Wilson said of the two multipurpose sticks. “I can never tell the difference in the way [the e.l.f multi sticks] look compared to [the] Nars formula. […] ever since I’ve discovered the e.lf. sticks, I’ve been using them non-stop.”

Nars’ The Multiple multi-purpose stick rings in at $39 while e.l.f.’s Multi-Stick is a wallet-friendly $4.

For drugstore concealer dupes, London-based beauty and skincare YouTuber Tammi Clarke compares tarte’s Shape Tape Concealer to e.l.f. Cosmetic’s 16HR Camo Concealer.

“I really like the mattifying effect, I love the full-coverage,” she says of tarte’s Shape Tape. “If you do want a dupe, in my opinion, I feel like the e.l.f. 16HR Camo Concealer is literally the same thing in terms of [it being] so full-coverage. It dries matte, it lasts all day, and [it’s] really really good on oily skin.”

For a cost-effective concealer dupe, the e.l.f. formula rings in at $6 while Tarte’s Shape Tape Concealer will set you back $27.

For matte lipsticks, Clarke raved about Huda Beauty’s Power Bullet Matte Lipstick and NYX Cosmetics’ Suede Matte Lipstick. “[Huda Beauty’s lipstick] is amazing,” she said. “It glides on beautifully. It looks matte but it’s not drying like a liquid lipstick. Really comfortable on the lips but it looks matte, which I love. They’re very pigmented, they’re just beautiful.”

For a drugstore alternative to Huda Beauty’s $25 lipstick, the influencer recommends NYX’s $8 dupe.  “If you want that matte look on your lips without it being a liquid lipstick but you also want a very pigmented lipstick just like Huda Beauty, I cannot rave enough about these NYX lipsticks.”

With nearly 600k subscribers, beauty YouTuber Jessica Braun compared two ultra-thin gel eyeliners. “One of my favorite eyeliners of all time [is] the Hourglass 1.5mm eyeliner. I run through it in like three weeks because it’s so creamy and so thin,” Braun told the camera.

“It’s such a teeny-tiny point but it’s creamy enough that it will actually get in the lash line.” The mother and influencer said her go-to dupe to the $18 Hourglass eyeliner is Revlon’s $5 Colorstay Micro 1.5mm eyeliner. “You get the exact same amount of product and the Revlon one actually comes with a small smudger.

“It is just as creamy, [they’re the same size], and I think that the addition of the little smudger is incredible.”

For cream eyeshadow sticks, Braun compared Laura Mercier’s $29 Caviar Stick Eyeshadow with Covergirl’s $9.99 TruNaked Queenship Shadow Stick.

“[The Caviar Stick is] $29, so they’re not cheap. It’s a really light, pretty, very creamy cream shadow.” As for Covergirl’s Queenship Shadow Stick, “these are just as creamy […] and they have a decent amount of shades in the Covergirl range. […] $10 versus $30 is a huge difference for virtually the same product.”