When Dupes Ain’t Enough

Happy Easter everyone!

I should be downstairs enjoying my blue raspberry martini while I watch my dad cut the turkey, but I feel the need to vent something on my mind lately.

This is about beauty stuff alright?

So, it all started when my brother’s girlfriend came over to stay for a couple of days. She had her stuff laid out in our den and I was passing through to go out into the garage when I saw a bright purple spray bottle with a touch of gold lying out of her open makeup bag. When she returned, I asked her what it was. She said it was a mist by a Japanese skincare brand called Tatcha. Having oily skin, I had a hunch the mist wasn’t for me once I noticed on the bottle that it was meant to deliver a dewy glow, but my curious heart couldn’t help itself, so I decided to look Tatcha up.

One particular product that caught my eye on their website was their famous water cream, a bestseller at Sephora. I hadn’t set foot in Sephora for more than a year due to my desire to save money and invest my time in a beauty loyalty program that actually helps me do that. (I’m looking at you Shoppers Drug Mart). However, Sephora tends to have more variety than Shoppers and there are some things I buy from there that I can’t live without like the Laniege lip mask.

I have had oily skin all my life and never felt the need to use a moisturizer, but overtime, I learned that even oily skin needs hydration. I currently use a Cetaphil moisturizing face lotion which seems to work fine for me. So why am I drawn to an even more expensive moisturizer? Two big reasons:

1. I felt like the cream had everything in its formula that I was looking for: oil-free, non-comedogenic, watery for a cream (not to thick), and above all an aim to balance oil production. They also would claim that your money would go to funding for girl’s education in underdeveloped countries. Or, do they just say that to get you to buy it?

2. The desire to make my own decisions when it comes to personal care. Throughout my life, my mom always seemed to know what was best for my face. I never knew what to pick when I was struggling with acne. Maybe part of me knew at that age that I had to be picky based on my needs because one wrong product could make the acne worse. Plus, I never put these things into consideration because I was dealing with other things I was trying to learn in life. Most girls start to experiment with makeup and skincare by their teen years and I didn’t start to think about that until now in my mid-20’s. I’m trying to find what’s right for me almost from scratch instead of sticking to what I’ve used for years. Is there really a need to change everything up to show I’m an independent woman who can take care of her own health and body?

I tried a travel size and loved it, the cream was very lightweight, had a nice scent without being overpowering, it felt extremely refreshing on my face, and didn’t give me a breakout. Of course, now you may ask why do I hesitate the buy the full size? It’s the price of course! I mean, why would I worry? I already use a moisturizer for my body from L’Occitane that is really expensive as well, so why hesitate now?

Well, first off, I feel like my Sephora addiction has relapsed and whenever I buy things there, it takes up a significant portion on my credit card bill! So far, it’s the only place I can obtain this cream, other than the Tatcha website, and I want to have room for other things in life I want to buy.

That was when I started looking for dupes this afternoon but didn’t have a lot of success. Many of them I found, were really close but didn’t have the Japanese vibes to it, although the First Aid Coconut one seems promising. Maybe I should look into that one instead.

I think I should just follow my heart and decide what’s more important: saving money, or splurging on something that every beauty guru says you should try. Ah the dilemma, I’m sure I’ll figure it out, but no matter how much I end up loving that cream IF I decide to get it, I’ll probably dread paying $84 every 3-4 months to replace it. First Aid Coconut Water Cream here I come?

👽Emily