Budget Benefit dupes courtesy of W7

Right well my regular subscribers and readers will know I'm a big fan of a bargain. BIG FAN. However, for some reason, and I'm not really sure why but I'm a total blush and bronzer snob. It may be because I used to be terrified of blusher and bronzers and only started wearing them in recent years or maybe its something to do with that memory of clown like red/pink cheeks on pale pale skin from multiple ballet performances that has left me scarred! Anyway, I digress, regardless of the reason why it's a fact that my blush bronzer collection has always been full of MAC, Estée Lauder, and Benefit goodies. That was until I stumbled upon W7's Africa...

The Detail:

Definitely not a high end brand but the products come in Benefit style boxes with a similar brush enclosed also (fyi the brush is equally as rubbish as the Benefit one and gets binned just a quickly!). I originally picked up the Africa Bronzer over a year ago and was so impressed with it that I went hunting for the others in the range and grabbed them all as soon as I found them!! Now my W7 goodies are usually fruits of my Northern Ireland make up hauls and I have rarely found the brand here. It is the type of brand that pops up in discount stores, New Look occasionally and also TK Maxx so keep an eye out if you are keen. Ebay has buckets of them available also. My stash all came from NI costing between £1.99 and £3.95 each so worth a try if nothing else..

I'm reviewing all 4 here:

1 Africa Multi Bronzing Face Powder 8g (more recently discovered in New Look Blanch and Omni for €4.99)

2 Double Act Bronzer & Highlighter Powder 8g (possible dupe for Benefit's 10 7g)

3 Honolulu Bronzing Powder 6g (possible dupe for Benefit's Hoola 8g)

4 Candy Floss Brightening Face Powder 6g (possible dupe for Benefit's Dandelion 7g)

The Images:

All 4 Lined up:

An individual box so you can see it's shape properly:

Swatches:

The Sciencey Bit:

Right well there isn't a huge amount of science to it really. However, as ever, I spent quite a bit of time comparing ingredients between these products and the products they mimic and without boring you with too much detail here's what I found:

1 Africa

8 ingredients, 2 of which are parabens. It also contains a list of 8 "may contain" ingredients, 6 of which are colours. While I am a little concerned about the uncertainty of their presence I'm hoping it may be like the "may contain nuts" you get on products produced in the same factories as nut products... if you get me?

[Parabens are chemical preservatives used regularly in cosmetics and beauty products. While officially they are considered "safe" there are a number of concerns surrounding potential carcinogenic and estrogenic effects associated with their use. Many people with sensitive skin also have paraben allergies which may result in rosacea or dermatitis when in contact with parabens. Finally, Methylparaben applied on the skin has been found to potentially react with UVB rays causing increased skin aging and DNA damage] 

2 W7's Double Act v Benefit's 10

Double Act has few ingredients listed with 8 in total, 2 of which are parabens. It also has a note stating it may contain a further 7 ingredients 5 of which are colours.

10 contains 28 ingredients, 5 of which are parabens.

3 W7's Honolulu v Benefit's Hoola

Honolulu  has 13 ingredients with 2 parabens. It also has a note saying may contain a further 3 ingredients all of which are colours.

Hoola has less ingredients at 12 with the same 2 parabens as Honolulu.

4 W7's Candy Floss v Benefit's Dandelion

Candy floss has a total of 8 ingredients of which 2 are parabens with a further note saying it may contain up to 7 more ingredients, 4 of which are colours.

Dandelion has a whopping total of 38 ingredients (many the same as Candy Floss) with a total of 5 parabens

The Conclusion:

Well I really am a convert - I love these products. The consistency is great they blend well and the pigment is great. Africa was the product that started my love affair with W7 and it remains a strong favourite. Ironically when I wear it it tends to get a lot of compliments more so than any of my pricier counterparts. Likewise one of my friends grabbed these bargains too and every time she has Africa on I ask her what bronzer it is!! It reminds me quite a bit of the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess limited edition Exotic blush from a few summers back..it was a light tan with pink zebra stripes running through it. This W7 bronzer though has more depth and gives a pleasingly darker glow.

I use Double Act least of the four. The bronze half of this is quite glittery with not so subtle gold glitter particles which are just too large for my liking. I probably wouldn't buy this one again truth be told. I do like the pinky colour quite a bit though.

I like Honolulu but its incredibly dark so you need to use it carefully or you just end up looking dirty. As it's matt I use it more often as a contour powder rather than bronzer but only if I am looking for a very strong contoured look. If you are contemplating it as a dupe beware it is definitely darker than it's Benefit counterpart, Hoola.

Candy floss is lovely and probably the best dupe of the lot. The peachy pink colour is light and sheer and provides a lovely brightness on application. The pigmentation is great also.

To round up I'd have to say they are some really decent products and for the cheap as chips price you'd be mad not to give them a go if you stumble upon them. They have great pigmentation and the colour payoff is great! Once again I've found that the cheaper products don't always mean poorer quality with 2 of the Benefit equivalents containing over double the parabens and 2 containing far more ingredients also :O