IT Cosmetics - Cult Beauty Brand of The Month

There is one brand that I am yet to get my hands on which so many of my fellow bloggers love and rave about, it is IT Cosmetics. I keep meaning to pop along to stand in Selfridges when I am on my K-Beauty mission to see what is new, but I either forget or it is always busy, so here we have my dilemma. If you didn't know, It Cosmetics was co-founded by Jamie Kern Lima alongside a team of leading dermatologists and as a brand, it boasts clinically proven, problem-solving products that combine skin-loving actives with innovative technology.

This month Cult Beauty* has chosen IT Cosmetics to be its brand of the month and what I like about this concept is that a different brand is chosen each month, so not too long ago it was Hourglass Cosmetics (my review here) and whilst they celebrate a brand per month, you also get free shipping and more often than not a free gift too, with this month offer, comes a free The IT Girl Deluxe Skincare Duo.

The first product I love the sound of is the Bye Bye Redness Correcting Cream - Neutral Beige ( 11ml £26.00) - I suffer from redness on my cheeks and between my brows and I use a few different colour correcting products to try and neutralise it as much as I can.  Having been seen by a dermatologist who assures me it is nothing to worry about, it tends to flare up when I am stressed or running a fever.  Having read 5-6 different reviews about it, I really like the sound of how it works with the skin.  Described as being colour-infused skin care, it starts its life as a hydrating, skin-calming cream that cancels out redness – all while delivering long-wearing, colour-correcting full coverage. 

The second product is Your Skin But Better CC+ Oil-Free Matte with SPF 40 (32ml £31) - This is possibly one of the most seen products on my Instagram timeline.  Described as being full coverage, sun damage-deflecting oil-free formulation which leaves a perfect matte finish. Created to improve the appearance of your skin’s texture, camouflage imperfections and minimise the appearance of pores, this formula leaves skin supremely smooth and even. Enhanced with SPF 40 and a host of skin-nourishing benefits

The third product is the Bye Bye Pores Poreless Finish Airbrush Powder ( 6.8g £22) - I love that this is a universal translucent shade, so there is no worry that you have bought the wrong one for you. Said to have been specially designed (with the help of plastic surgeons) to blur the appearance of pores and imperfections, this Airbrush Powder will leave your complexion smooth, even and ‘poreless’.  I love that you can wear this powder on its own or with your makeup. 

When it comes to makeup, I can never resist a Vitality Lip Flush 4-in-1 Reviver Lipstick Stain( 3.4g £18) - Described as being  a luxe treatment lip balm with a powerful stain that won’t dry out your lips, It is infused with plum oil, cherry oil, shea butter, aloe, jojoba, age-defying antioxidants, vitamins, green tea and white tea to treat, hydrate, condition and nourish your lips. That description alone draws me in!

Finally, if you are going to call a product the Superhero Mascara (£20) then as a mascara fiend, I want to try it.  Described as being like ‘skin care for your lashes’, the formula has been developed with plastic surgeons and clinically shown to give your lashes super volume, length and elastic stretch – all with just one coat. The formula is also said to be enhanced with lash-lifting polymers, volumising collagen, strengthening biotin, proteins and peptides combined with super black pigments for an eye-opening look.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Aldi Lacura Glycolic Cleansing Pads - Are they a Nip + Fab Dupe?

Everyone has their view on dupes and duping and those views are often scathing or on the opposite end of the spectrum, full of praise. Aldi has become well known for their own dupes - in recent times they have had dupes of Aussie Shampoo, NARS, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Liz Earle, Glamglow, YSL Touche Eclat, Jo Malone, Molton Brown, Beauty Blender and even Neom. But they are not alone, Primark and Revolution do the same thing too and again, for some people it is okay for one brand to do it but not another.   

I am a huge fan of Aldi and have one at the end of the road where I work and often pop in during the week to do a food shop top-up and more importantly browse the Gin section because Aldi has some fabulous Gin!   However, what caught my eye was the Lacura Daily Cleansing Glycolic Pads, something I had heard about on my social media feed but had never actually seen in my Aldi store.

The Lacura Daily Cleansing Glycolic Pads are a Nip + Fab dupe, there is absolutely no denying it. The packaging is similar to the point where I had to look twice to see which brand it was because if you look at the packaging then what you get are two plastic tubs featuring 60 Glycolic Acid Cleansing Pads with a similar shade of light blue and orange on the label. I am not a huge fan of Nip + Fab as a brand, I think they are overpriced for a highstreet brand especially when you can get better products for less money.

So, it is clear to see what the product is, what it does but there are a few differences and the first is that Aldi quite clearly displays the Leaping Bunny meaning they are Cruelty-Free, Nip + Fab do not have the bunny clearly displayed but do claim that they do not test their products on animals. Secondly, well we cannot ignore the price difference and Aldi Lacura Pads are priced at £2.49 and Nip + Fab costs £13.59 when they are not on an offer, so that is a huge £11.10p difference.

When it comes to descriptions they are both written very similarly, both brands state that their product is a Daily Cleansing Pad with the word 'Exfoliate' clearly visible.  When it comes to the descriptions,  Nip + Fab state that their pads are "Exfoliating Facial Pads to retexture + brighten skin" whereas Aldi Lacura state that their pads are "Exfoliating facial pads to improve skin texture and tone for a brighter & more radiant complexion".  Both pads have one side which is textured and the other which is smooth, but the notable difference is that the Nip + Fab pads are just ever so slightly thicker than Aldi Lacura, but they are the same size and the same shape.

So this then takes us to the ingredients, perhaps the most important component of whether or no a product is any good.  We have always been told that the higher up the ingredient list, the more of that particular one there is within a product, so this is what we have:

• Nip + Fab - Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Glycolic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Alcohol Denat. (SD Alcohol 40-B), Disodium EDTA, Globularia Alypum (Blue Daisy) Extract, Panthenol, Lactic Acid, Parfum, Limonene, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Linalool, Geraniol, Citral.
• Aldi Lacura - Aqua, Glycolic Acid, Glycerin, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Offiicinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus Lemon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Parfum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Panthenol, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzoic Acid.

So as you can see there are a lot of similar ingredients used (in bold) but the order within which they have been used differs. Notably Nip + Fab use Lactic Acid whereas Aldi Lacura does not make any mention of it.  Aldi Lacura makes no mention of the words Alcohol or Alcohol Denat.  So you can make your own mind up from the two lists which one you prefer.

When it comes to using the pads, they feel exactly the same on the skin.  As mentioned, one side is textured and the other is smooth and after using, my skin feels smooth but for me, at this stage, it is the Aldi pad that I prefer and that is because it feels slightly fresher on the skin with a little more liquid within the pad than Nip + Fab and my skin feels less tacky to the touch.  When it comes to the scent, those who are familiar with Nip + Fab will know what I mean when I say Citrus scent, because that is exactly the fragrance they have thought it is a bit on the sweet side.  With the Aldi Lacura version, I actually prefer the scent of these pads because whilst the main scent is Citrus from the Orange and Lemon, the use of Aloe tones it down a lot and the Witch Hazel isn't as strong. 

If you have never tried a Glycolic Cleansing Pad and have an Aldi near you, then these are well worth the £2.49 that they cost, if anything they could charge double the price and they would still be an absolute bargain.  For me, despite being the dupe, Aldi wins the war on texture, on effectiveness, on price, on fragrance, on how my skin feels after using and there is absolutely nothing I dislike.  As far as I am concerned, they are much better than Nip + Fab which I am just not a fan of and cost five times less for what is something so similar yet so much better!

Have you tried any of the Aldi dupes?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.