If there’s one thing make-up lovers can all agree on it is that there is nothing better than a dupe. As nice as it can be to splash out, what’s the point if you can find a similar product for a fraction of the price? So when I heard OPV ’s Beauty Illuminators have been branded a Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Filter dupe, I was beyond excited to give them a go.
But I quickly realised I might need to alter my expectations. Coming in at £15 on offer, OPV’s offering sounds like a steal if you buy now, but at full cost its £35 price tag is only £1 less than Charlotte Tilbury’s equivalent.
Then again, while it is available, the discount isn’t one to turn your nose up at, so long as the product delivers.
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But I can’t say I loved it. While there’s lots to recommend these illuminators, they did not become my new favourite beauty product, when I tested them. Here’s why…
When my make-up arrived with its simple yet sleek packaging, I couldn’t wait to open them up, and my joy grew as I realised OPV uses pipette applicators. I’ve yet to find any alternatives that are more fun to use.
However, my expected enjoyment was hampered by the stiff design, which made it hard to control the amount of product being applied. I ended up using the pipette like a stick when adding swatches to my arm.
You see, unsure which of the six available colour options would suit me best, I tried two: Starlight and Snowflakes. I thought the former, which is described as giving ‘a soft gold shimmer’, and the latter, which gives ‘a pearl shimmer for pinkish shine’, would suit my pale complexion.
But as you can see, the Starlight was a little dark for my skin tone.
However, I’m glad to report both products match their descriptions, so perhaps I shouldn’t have picked a gold shade considering how untanned I am.
Luckily, the liquid formula “can be mixed with foundation, moisturiser or on top of your powder”, so I tried out the first two options in the hope this would help.
First up was snowflakes, which I added to moisturiser, before applying the mixture. And it is fair to say my face was illuminated, just not quite in a way I liked. Being such a close match to my skin tone, the product added a waxy sheen to my face, which looked more like sweat than make-up in my opinion.
A flashlight did help with this problem, in that it clearly illuminated the product’s sparkles, but, unsurprisingly, I don’t walk around with a light held to my face all day.
So I decided to repeat the process with foundation, hoping for a change, but I ended up having the opposite problem.
My medium coverage foundation mixed so well with the illuminator it removed most traces of it, even after using a good amount of the product. While I could notice a slight sheen to my face, which could not have come from my matte foundation, I struggled to get it to show up on camera, even when standing in front of a well-lit mirror.
Deciding the darker colour might be needed with my foundation, I turned to the starlight shade (after washing my face). And immediately, I noticed a difference.
My face looked more illuminated, especially when standing in the sunlight.
Not quite a flashy look, but not entirely natural either, it made my skin shine (and a lot more so than was visible on camera). Rather than the dewy look some illuminators give, expect to look like you’ve finished your make-up routine with a heavy dusting of glitter.
If this sounds like something you would like, and you want to add more sparkle to your day, then this product is definitely worth a go.
But I won’t be adding it to my everyday makeup bag. Perhaps when my next festival rolls round (and I’ve hopefully gained a tan), I’ll give it another go.
Check out the OPV Beauty range here at ASOS where they currently have a sale.
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