Essence Dupe For MAC Lipstick

 Hello there beautiful! :) My birthday happened not too long ago, and my boyfriend got me an amazing present. He surprised me by taking me to Ulta and giving me $80 to spend in the store. Is he perfect or what? Listen up ladies! If your man understands your cosmetics addiction AND becomes your enabler, KEEP HIM.

 ^_^

As I was scavenging throughout my makeup cases today, (i have two!) I came upon a dupe for MAC Blankety lipstick. I reviewed this lipstick in another post; click here to read that. I love this color, but let's be honest with ourselves. MAC is an expensive habit.
On my maniacal spree throughout Ulta, I picked up a new lipstick! (among other things...) They sell a company called Essence that was formerly only sold in the UK. You can get it from Ulta stores or their website now! Essence is super affordable, especially when the store runs sales. I have paid a dollar for their nail polish, and I think their lipsticks are $2.50 FULL PRICE.
**EDIT: I just checked Ulta.com. As of 5/6/2011, most Essence lipsticks are on sale for $1.29.**

The dupe in question is Essence Soft Nude. It looks almost exactly the same to me. The smell is different; MAC has the normal vanilla smell and Essence lipsticks have a very faint sweet smell. Also, there is a slight texture difference, as MAC is more opaque and Essence has a tiny bit more gloss to it. You want proof, you say? Well here you go!

Soft Nude on left, Blankety on right. (sorry it's so dark!)

Soft Nude on left, Blankety on right. Used flash to show gloss of lipsticks.