Dupe for an Old Standby

I, as many women my age, started my forte into "higher end" cosmetics with Clinique. The brand is known to give out freebies with purchases, and many of those freebies inevitably wind up being passed down to teenage daughters/nieces/granddaughters who know very little about makeup outside of the drugstore (okay, I'm speaking for myself here, but surely there are others with similar experiences). 

You know what I'm talking about...all those unpigmented powder products, and always a sample of the iconic lotion

I was enamored with Clinique at the time, it was "fancy" and "expensive" and I believed it must contain "better" ingredients than the drugstore products that were readily available to me. So, when I became a waitress with more income than a teenager needs (I so wish I had appreciated this fact at the time), I started purchasing a few items from the Clinique counter at Macy's (pretty sure it was still Kaufmanns, at this point, but you get the gist). During this time, I started using Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. I liked it, and it felt a bit luxury with the simple square bottle and the nice pump.

As I started learning more about makeup and skin care, I eventually drifted away from Clinique products. They seemed simple and unexciting compared to all the other options available. After going through all the hormonal changes that came with having a child, my skin was the worst it'd ever been. I spent a few years trying everything, and no fancy regimen helped. That's when I decided to give simple, boring Clinique another shot. This stuff should not be amazing, there's nothing really exciting in the ingredients, or even the claims, but it manages to keep my dehydrated skin supple and doesn't irritate it, which other products just couldn't seem to do, for whatever reason.

All this detailed background to say that my sensitive skin doesn't really like trying other moisturizers (and I've tried plenty), but I also think Clinique's DDML seems to be a simple formulation which should be dupable. So, when Equate came out with a "dupe" I was excited to try it. I decided to share my experience, since I've had a difficult time finding reviews on the product, and I know there must be others out there, like me, who would love a less expensive dupe.

Obviously, my original is well loved, and I also lost the cap

First of all, you have to appreciate the name Equate chose for the dupe: "Strikingly Unique Moisturizing Lotion". It makes me chuckle every time I reach for it. As you can see, Equate is definitely trying to imitate Clinique's packaging. It's slightly more bulky (though they're both 4.2 oz), and just overall less "sleek" looking, but that's not a huge deal to me, they did a fine job. They also imitated the yellow shade of the lotion, which is honestly my least favorite part of Clinique's lotion, but that's not really an issue if it performs well.

Both come with a pump, which I LOVE. Sure, the Equate pump is slightly less classy looking, but they're both just plastic pumps that work fine.

Clinique Ingredients: Water, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Oil, Urea, Lanolin Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, Trisodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 33.

Equate Ingredients: Water, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Oil, Lanolin Alcohol, Saccharide Isomerate, Hordeum Vulgare Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber Fruit) Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Carbomer, Tetrasodium EDTA, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 33. 

The ingredients are very similar, as you can see. I saw someone mention on a blog that the Equate lotion was heavily perfumed, but I can't detect any fragrance in either lotion, and neither has any ingredients that would cause them to be fragranced.

It is really hard to show texture in an image, but I've tried my best here. Clinique is on top, and Equate is on the bottom. As you can see, Clinique has a thicker texture. When I first purchased the Equate Strikingly Unique (Seriously, that's a great name), I was a bit disappointed during my first use, because I figured the thinner texture would mean less moisture and different results. 

Here, you can see both lotions rubbed in slightly. Again, you can see that the Equate version is runnier. Even though I was apprehensive at first, I have to say, the Equate version performs exactly the same. I've been using it for a month (for the record, my routine is to wash with a microfiber cloth+water, then use BHA pads, then use a rosewater spray, and, finally, apply the lotion), and my skin is just as moisturized every morning, and I have had no bad reactions. Awesome!

I am very pleased with the Equate lotion. For just $12.87, in comparison to Clinique's $24.00, I think I will continue buying the Equate version. 

A+