Duped: Benefit Ooh La Lift

I'll confess that I'm hugging myself with glee over spotting this dupe. Whooda guessed that Boots Time Delay Instant Eye Brightener was a pretty darned good dupe for cult-product Benefit's Ooh La Lift? And even better, with the £5 discount vouchers for this line Boots is handing out from now till May 20 - you'll only pay 50p, yes 50p, for the Eye Brightener!

Now, let me brag a little about how I netted this dupe while I go on to tell you about the products.

When strolling around Covent Garden yesterday I came across a Benefit standalone shop filled with bored shop attendants. So of course I went in to play. Besides the incredibly cute packaging and even cuter names, Benefit's selling point is its problem-solving approach. Ooh La Lift is the brand's solution to tired, puffy, shadowed eyes.

The product comes in a little tube, with a doe-foot applicator. You dot on a shimmery pink liquid that feels cool and tightens as you pat it in. The shimmer and colour serve to brighten up the eye area and to counteract (but not conceal!) dark undereye shadows. The cooling and tightening sensation is refreshing, and is supposed to de-puff, but not having undereye bags, I can't tell you if it works. It's still a fun product, and is meant to be used under and over makeup.

Well this morning, I was back at my regular haunt - Boots (yes I haunt the place), and was checking out the Time Delay line as I have three, yes THREE more £5 off vouchers for it, when I picked up this little pink pot. It too promises to depuff and brighten the eye area, AND moisturise it too. - for only 50p (now I've mentioned it enough). Of course it came home with me.

Instant Eye Brightener comes in a sturdy, surprisingly posh looking, glass jar. It's a pink shimmery cream that feels very light going on. It too has a cooling sensation (although not as dramatic as Ooh La Lift), and when used over makeup, works very well to brighten and wake up my eye area. Since the pot IS mine, I took off my eye makeup (yes, just for you dear reader), to see if it made a difference on its own. And it does! It doesn't conceal undereye shadows, but it definitely lightens them, resulting in a need for less concealer. Plus it feels soothing and refreshing on bare skin. A definite keeper.

(Ps. I am not deliberately plugging the Time Delay line. I'm just more aware of it thanks to aforesaid vouchers)

*Disclaimer: The "Duped" column refers only to cheaper alternatives for more expensive products. It in no way implies that the cheaper product deliberately duplicated the pricier version. In some cases, the cheaper product may pre-date the more expensive product.