I Found a $6 Dupe for Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s Favorite Eye Shadow

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I’ve long lusted after Hourglass’s Scattered Light Eyeshadow in the shade Aura, ever since I first saw it in aGet Ready With Me video featuring Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. She said that the product was one of her all-around favorite eye shadows for elevating her daytime makeup look. I could see why: in the video, the shadow gave her eyes asoft pink, pearlescent twinklethat was neither too glittery, nor too metallic. It looked like something I could wear for work meetings, going out,andspecial occasions, and I needed to own it immediately. I hustled over to Sephora, gave it a swatch on my forearm, and was thrilled to discover it looked just asgorgeouson my body as it did on the camera. Then I looked at the price tag, where I saw the bad news:it was $29. Not for a whole palette. For the single color.
I should note that I firmly believe there are a lot of Hourglass products worth investing in. Its $46Vanish Foundation Brushand $48Ambient Light Finishing Powderare absolute staples that I will never stop blowing my paycheck on. But I couldn’t justify spending that much on a single eye shadow that cost more than my ten-shade“Treasure” palette from Ohii. So I held off.
A couple weeks later, I went to Ulta to swatch some potential dupes for the pricey Aura shade from Colourpop — I’d heard great things about the brand’s affordableeye shadowsin the past from the makeup artist Harriet Hatfeld, who is the cohost of my favorite beauty podcastFull Coverage. When I tried its $6 Super Shock Wave Eyeshadow in the shade “Frog,” I gasped — really, I did! Just like the Aura, this shadow gave off a super-buildable, subtle-but-beautifullyprismatic shimmer— something you could wear as easily to a meeting as you could on your actual wedding day. Once I got it home, I realized I actually prefer Colourpop’s formula to Hourglass’s — it’s creamier, more blendable, and doesn’t get glitter anywhere except where you want to get glitter (your eyelids).

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This is something I’ve ended up wearing almost every day since, as part of mydaily no-makeup makeup routine. I love it so much that, in the weeks since, I’ve gone back to Ulta and purchased several other colors: “Ripple” a cool toned violet, “Amaze” a rose gold, and “Bae” a dark purple-y blue. This isn’t just a perfect dupe: it’s a perfect, perfectly priced, daily-wear eye shadow.
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