They suspiciously looked like dupes of some other famous products, Benefit Hoola Bronzer and Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer but at a fraction of the cost. Did I need any more bronzers? No. Did I want to buy those little gems and test them out myself and then tell you all about it? YESSS.
Both products are from discount UK cosmetic brand W7 and they cost me AU$9.95 each. See end of post for details on where to buy these from.
Both products come in a square cardboard box very similar to the Benefit blush/bronzer cases. They even come with the same style of (useless) brush.
The first thing I did when I brought these home is pull out my Benefit Hoola to compare to W7 Honolulu.
Honolulu is slightly darker and warmer toned than Hoola, but my god the pigmentation and smoothness is ah-may-zing! It blends like a dream... though I must warn you to use a light touch as it's very very pigmented.
Considering Hoola is sold here for AUD$51 and this is less than AUD$10, this is a fantastic product you can't pass up. It's especially good for people who find Hoola a bit too ashy for their skintones. I absolutely love Hoola, it's what I use to contour, but in summertime it's actually too light for my skintone, so I'm really really glad I found Honolulu.
The next possible dupe is Africa, which in my opinion looks to be a good dupe for Too Faced Pink Leopard. Now I don't actually own Pink Leopard, so I'm going only based on pics I've seen online.
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| Picture on the right of the Too Faced bronzer was taken off Google Images |
Not being able to show you Pink Leopard and Africa swatched next to each other, I can't really say how good a dupe this is, but judging Africa on its own merits it's a beautifully pigmented, smooth and finely milled highlighting powder. It's marketed as bronzer, but it's definitely too shiny and too light to work as a bronzer.... see swatch below.
Funnily enough when I brought these home, I noticed that Nicoletta from Nicoletta's Beauty Space had also bought and reviewed the same products, so check out her blog for more pics and where to buy them in UK (Savers?).
In Australia I've seen W7 at discount cosmetics stores like Cosmo Cosmetics, Gloss, Groove and also online at http://www.fashionaddict.com.au/ I bought mine at Cosmo Cosmetics in Parramatta (Sydney), but there's also a Cosmo store at Wynyard station. If in doubt, google where to buy W7 and lots of websites come up.
What do you think of these dupes? Do you own any of these dupes or even the original versions?
Ooh, I saw these last week when I was at Cosmo Cosmetics & thought about them being dupes of some more expensive items.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the swatches :) I think while it may not be an *exact* dupe, it's good enough for $10!
Ooh very interesting the leopard one is pretty <3 I think I prefer the cooler lighter tone of Hoola though mm, thanks for the swatches and heads up! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, I always skim over this brand. I'll check my local Gloss store. :) x
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I've also seen W7 at chemist warehouse stores, not these products, but i got a great W7 eyeshadow palette from there for $10!
ReplyDelete@xovintagelove - my thoughts exactly, though not perfect dupes at a fraction of price of originals they're still good enough to do the job.
ReplyDelete@jade - next time you're at parra check them out, they're really pretty when swatched.
@michelle - yeah definitely keep an eye out for these at Gloss, they're a really good buy IMO.
@SJ - oh i haven't seen them at chemist wearhouse, i must keep a lookout for the eyeshadows.
Lilit
Xoxo
Thanks for the review and photos! I've noticed W7 products quite a few times on various different sites but haven't paid much attention to the brand, will be checking out the products after seeing your swatches. Both products look great, Africa looks really pretty though x
ReplyDeleteI've heard loads about these! I wish we got W7 here :(
ReplyDeleteAfrica looks soooooo pretty!
ReplyDeleteYaay glad you got them too they are fab arnt they. Thanks for the mention too xx
ReplyDeleteWow those products are so similar! I'll have to check out if we can get them here in the states.
ReplyDeleteI tagged you in the "Summer Besties" TAG that I posted on a few days ago =) I look forward to seeing what your summer essentials are if you decide to do the TAG!
xx
B
hahaha such copy cats and they're not even trying to be different it seems =P
ReplyDeleteGood bargain tho
Wow, this is great! I actually just found this great place which stocks W7, I'll be sure to check to see if they stock this; I want them both so bad! They look gorgeous :D
ReplyDeleteJust bought both items from Cosmo at Hornsby. I've been going there quite a bit recently and they have such good stuff for much less than the normal retailers. I have started a passion for the Calvin Klein makeup because of going to this shop. The CK makeup is lovely - great colours, pigmentation, finely milled, and lipsticks so luscious and staying. I've just bought 3 more CK lipsticks (as well as the Africa and Honolulu) as they have a new shipment in - can't wait to try one of them tonight when I go out. I had been to this shop once or twice before reading this post without ever looking at the name of the shop. Thanks so much for the reviews.
ReplyDelete@Kath - I've seen the CK range there too but I haven't tried them.. they actually keep the CKs behind the glass casing and I can't be bothered asking them to take it out and show me as I'd probably feel obligated to buy it otherwise.
ReplyDeleteDid you use Africa and HOnolulu yet? I used both tonight as well and Honolulu is so much better at contouring for night time than Hoola is... Africa I'm a bit unsure about, it's nice, but not doing much for me.
Oh at the Hornsby Cosmo, CK are all out on display in the shop with the other products, like Versace, Nina Ricci, Revlon, Stila, etc. The lipsticks I bought yesterday were only $6.95 each! because they have a different lid - maybe they're display ones - but I don't care.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I didnt buy Hula then :) Honolulu only just shows up on me so Hula would have been a waste of money! Pink leopard is more bronze than the w7 dupe :) xx
ReplyDeleteomg I've not seen this brand over here in Brisbane =( I'd love love love to try that since the price of Hoola always been putting me off (well, of course you can still get it online but it's not like I need another bronzer sorta justification LOL)
ReplyDelete:)
I randomly found this looking for something totally unrelated but I am so glad because I love the look of Africa as a highlighter. I'm in the US and it's actually on Amazon so I will be ordering ASAP. I will be sure to blog about it as I am sure it will work well with my skin tone as well.
ReplyDelete