Are they a dupe of the famous MAC Whisper of Gilt highlighter? I don't actually own the MAC Whisper of Gilt highlighter but I have a good idea in my mind what it looks like, but there are many swatches on Google. Although I am not crazy enough to spend over £100 on eBay for the product, I am partial to dupes - especially if they are at a good price. This is where Laura Geller Gilded Honey and KIKO 208 Water Eyeshadow comes in.
I was gifted the Laura Geller illuminator for Christmas when it finally came back in stock on Cult Beauty. I was on the waiting list for quite some time so when I got the email to say it was back in stock, I immediately added it to my Christmas wish list. From first impressions, it is a very warm golden shade and I love how compact the actual product is. The product itself is quite fine in texture in comparison to the KIKO 208, so it is a little more buttery to apply on the skin. I find using a more dense brush (over a fan brush) like the Real Techniques Setting Brush (the pink one), picks up a lot more product, with less effort. On the cheek, I find it looks quite subtle and the colour diffuses quite nicely. It's definitely a build-able product, depending on how strong you like your highlight and it does give you a healthy sun-kissed glow.
The KIKO 208 Water Eyeshadow (Light Gold) was one of the first existing product that was supposedly THE dupe for MAC Whisper of Gilt. It was always out of stock every time I checked on it online, and you needed to spend a minimum of £25 to put in an order so I wasn't really that bothered about getting it. This is categorised as an eyeshadow but there are many products out there that are used for other purposes, and this is one of them, Although this would look fantastic as a eyeshadow (I am yet to try this), I imagine most people who have this in their collection use it for highlighting purposes. In comparison to Laura Geller, KIKO is quite powdery when you put your brush into it - the chunks of shimmer/glitter seem to come away in a messy way. It is also a lot lighter and yellower than Laura Geller and I personally wouldn't consider them to be the same colour as each other, even though they have both been considered as dupes for MAC Whisper of Gilt.
In the pan, they both look very similar in colour but when they are swatched on my hand, they look quite different. Although they both give off very golden tones, the KIKO 208 is more of a golden yellow colour and Laura Geller is a golden bronze colour. From what I know of MAC Whisper of Gilt from swatches and reviews, the KIKO 208 is more closer in colour than Laura Geller, and is one of the cheapest out there to purchase if you are looking to get something similar to the MAC Whisper of Gilt. On the KIKO website, it is £8.90 which is a very reasonable price for an eyeshadow/highlighter but like I mentioned before, you do need to spend £25 so when I saw these were available online, I decided to get 6 of them....yes, 6.
Left-Right/Bottom-Up: Laura Geller 'Gilded Honey' and KIKO 208 Light Gold Water Eyeshadow
I don't have MAC Whisper of Gilt as it seems to be gold dust, and it doesn't seem like MAC has plans to bring it out on time soon and even if they did, I personally wouldn't be stressing myself to get it as they seem impossible to get a hold of. I hate when brands tease something out and it gets so much hype across social media and it gets sold out immediately. Just like MAC did with their Christmas 2015 collection with their extra dimension highlighters in 'Oh Darling' and 'Shaft of Gold', they got insane media attention WEEKS before their launch, and when it came to it - they sold out immediately (20 minutes at BOTH my local MAC stores) and stores tend to only get sent a handful and thats even before the MAC employees get their hands on them first.
What do you think of these two products then? Dupes or just lovely?
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