I've been inspired by one of my readers, Jaime, who recently challenged herself to dupe the Coloured Raine Queen of Hearts palette. This palette came back in stock for a nanosecond earlier this week, and it is apparently the "last time" the palette was to be available. (I don't know if I believe that.) I know that right now, many people are left disappointed, and I thought it might be helpful to offer some dupes.
I have to say, this really wasn't all that hard for me to pull together from my own collection, which tells me how simple this palette really is. I think the main appeal to it is the combination of shadows in one place rather than the complexity or uniqueness of any of the shadows.
So here are my dupes:
Crown / Kat Von D Thunderstruck:
Crown, Thunderstruck
Heir / Makeup Geek Peach Smoothie:
Heir, Peach Smoothie
Royal Highness / Anastasia Beverly Hills Pink Champagne:
Royal Highness, Pink Champagne
Royal Prerogative / Makeup Geek Creme Brulee:
Royal Prerogative, Creme Brulee
Your Majesty / Juvia's Place Casablanca / MAC Amber Lights:
Your Majesty, Casablanca, Amber Lights
Noblewoman / Juvia's Place Calabar:
Noblewoman, Calabar
Princess / Makeup Geek Cupcake:
Princess, Cupcake
Ladyship / Colourpop 143:
Ladyship, 143
Empress / Viseart Dark Matte 8 / Milani Earthly Elements:
Empress, Dark Matte 8, Earthly Elements
Duchess / Anastasia Beverly Hills Fudge:
Duchess, Fudge
Queen Mother / Anastasia Beverly Hills Rosette:
Queen Mother, Rosette
Dethrone / Anastasia Beverly Hills Chocolate:
Dethrone, Chocolate
For the exception of Empress and Noblewoman, I was able to find a single shadow dupe for every color in this palette. Princess and Cupcake were the only two shadows that didn't look like total dupes, but on the eye, there isn't much difference. I feel the matte shadows in this palette are pretty standard and basic, so if you were disappointed that you weren't able to pick up this palette, I would look into some of the shimmer dupes I've listed.
Queen of Hearts is a pretty palette, and I enjoy it, but I don't think it is as crazy special as everyone is making it out to be. If you didn't have an opportunity to purchase it, that's okay. Because at the end of the day, so much eyeshadow looks the same. And we just trick ourselves into thinking that this one formula or this one color combination or this one palette is different and so special. But it's not. You don't need to count down the minutes to a makeup release, refresh the page over and over while the website crashes, and then find out it all sold out in minutes anyway. This is makeup! Not a once-in-a-lifetime concert or symphony or Hamilton tickets. This is neutral eyeshadow, just with some hype thrown in.
Hope this is helpful.
I'm so excited that you put this together! There's a YouTuber I started following, Lauren Mae Beauty, who does these types of duping videos somewhat regularly. Going back and watching them helped me realize that I could treat it almost like a game!
ReplyDeleteNow that I've made my Sephora purchase, I'm embarking on pretty much a full no buy, so I'm hoping these skills will help me get through that!
I've been watching Lauren for a while and I really enjoy her videos. I feel really fortunate that writing this blog has gotten me to a place where I just don't care about the new releases anymore. And absolutely the main thing that got me over that hurdle was seeing what I already had and how it was essentially the same as the new palette that was launching.
DeleteThe current culture, created by companies, is to not be satisfied with any thing that you have. Hell, Too Faced has sold people the exact same palette over and over again with the colors just rearranged. And people still buy it! So I think taking those moments to put hype, presentation, and packaging aside and really looking at the colors and comparing them to what you already own is very important.
Good luck on your no buy! I've never intentionally done one, because I don't do well being really restrictive. I usually self-moderate when I'm aware something needs to slow up, but I like having that wiggle room. I've recently gotten into gardening, and I specifically love succulents. I've been building a collection of them and they bring me just so much joy every day, much more joy than makeup does (and I love makeup!). My dad is a gardener, and so was his father, so it is clearly in my blood. And having that hobby has really taken the edge off of wanting to buy makeup. It wasn't something I thought about before, but it has been helping!
How fun! I love planning garden layouts and planting, but I decidedly do not have a green thumb. I got sewing machine for Christmas, so I'm going to take lessons for that to develop a new hobby myself.
DeleteThis no buy is financially driven, which hopefully will make it easier to actually stick with it (I'll be unemployed for a bit).