Dupe Alert: Kat Von D “Bow n Arrow” vs NYX “Sandstorm”
Every beauty lover has found themselves staring at Kat Von D’s makeup aisle in Sephora, a dreamy look on their faces and hands reaching their wallet, at least once in their lives.
And honestly, I can’t blame you! KVD products are some of the best out there, with an amazing variety and lots of quality on their backs.
The company launched 10 years ago and keeps pumping out best-selling products both in Sephora and on their website; and they don’t plan on retiring!
Taking a quick look at her aisle in Sephora, you can’t help but notice the huge color variety of her “Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks”, which include 55 different shades. One of the most popular is undoubtedly “Bow n Arrow”, marketed on the website as a ‘fawn nude’. It probably caught your attention, too!
Beautifully pigmented and long-lasting? Sign me up! …Wait, 22$? Umm…
Yes, those products are very high quality, but 22$…
Fear not, fellow beauty lovers: I may have a dupe for y’all.
NYX Cosmetics is a fairly popular drugstore brand mostly known for their various lipstick collections, and today we are going to put one of them to the test.
In the “Liquid Suede” collection we find the shade “Sandstorm”, that quite resemble KVD’s popular “Bow n Arrow”: is it really a dupe?
Let’s find out!
WEIGHT + SHADE
Bow n Arrow
- 22$
- 22 fl. Oz (6.6 ml)
- 12 months shelf life
- Fawn nude
- Matte finish
Sandstorm
- 7$
- 13 fl. Oz (4 ml)
- 6 months shelf life
- True nude
- Creamy velvet finish
PACKAGING
It’s not unusual to see the same the same bundles pop up again from time to time, especially in makeup, but Kat’s liquid lipsticks are something fairly new to the scene.
Did you know that Kat personally designs all of her products? Not just colors and names, but also their packaging!
The Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks’ design is something that we haven’t seen before, but also reminds us of her artist immediately (as does the rest of her collections, let’s be honest).
The white and black drawings have some goth elements in them that promise to catch your attention when you’ll see them around as does the company name printed in a beautiful calligraphy at the bottom. Also, the actual bottle has a unique length that isn’t as common in other similar products.
The only downside I personally found in Kat’s packaging was how fast the designs started to fade off. I have to admit that I use this shade quite often and usually take it with me when travelling, but still: it’s no big deal.
I heard that many people found the wand to be too long for their liking, but I did not have any problems with it whatsoever. The applicator is also pretty comfortable.
When compared with NYX’s packaging, however, KVD makes the latter look a lot more basic than it is.
Sure, the stained bottle is nothing original, but the kind of “starry” design at the top of the wand are definitely a nice touch.
The actual bottle is a lot thicker than Kat’s, but is about the same length as most liquid lipsticks out there. Shade’s name and ingredients are printed directly onto the sides.
If I find the Everlasting Liquid Lipstick applicator to be just ok, I absolutely love this one!
It is not too long (which, once again, does not bother me), and is able to move around and follow the actual shape of your lips for the most comfortable application.
PRODUCT’S FORMULATION
Before jumping in, I just wanted to point out that unlike Kat’s, NYX Liquid Suede are not proper ‘liquid lipsticks’, but ‘cream liquid lipsticks’. They still dry down, but it will take them a lot longer and won’t have the matte finish that liquid lipsticks are able to give you.
Both companies are cruelty-free (KVD products are also vegan) and the lipsticks share the following ingredients:
- Isodecane
- Red 6
- Red 7
- Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
- Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090)
- Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499)
- Red 28 Lake (CI 45410)
The Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks are formulated without parabens.
You can find the complete lists of ingredients on cosdna.com and nyxcosmetics.com.
SWATCHES
Down: NYX Sandstorm
FINAL THOUGHTS
Is NYX’s “Sandstorm” a true dupe for KVD’s “Bow n Arrow”? I do think so!
One thing worth keeping in mind is that we are comparing two different formulations that have in common mostly pigments and not ingredients that could mess with their texture.
The Everlasting’s formula is designed to dry down to a full matte and long lasting finish, while the Liquid Suede’s formula gives more of a velvety finish that is still quite long lasting. They dry down as well, but it takes them a lot more time.
You know the deal: keep spending your money how you want!