Beauty: Mac Diva dupe - Wet n Wild Cherry Bomb

One thing you might not know about me (unless you know me pretty well in real life), is that I'm a totally obsessive person. I mean, I won't stalk you or sniff your underwear or anything (seriously), but I will admit to falling in love with the look or even the idea of a certain item, and then spending weeks googling, comparing and trying out different options. Case in point: dark red lipstick. I convinced myself that MAC's Diva lipstick was the definite burgundy lipstick for me, but then TRAGEDY struck: it was sold out everywhere (blame the current 90s trend), even online. And I failed at finding a suitable alternative anywhere - ugh! Finally, after a month of waiting, I bit the bullet and ordered Wet N Wild's Cherry Bomb off of Amazon (also available for just $1.99 from Kmart). The brand is not sold in Belgium (double ugh!), but in the end I only paid about 6€ to have it shipped here. As it really is great quality for a drugstore lipstick, I still think it's a bargain! Check it out.

In direct light, the colour is a deeply saturated red with a soft satin finish. In the shade, it darkens to a black cherry shade: definitely a statement lip, but still very wearable if you ask me. Especially if you are dark haired.

The packaging isn't great: the lipstick doesn't retract into the tube totally, so if you're not super careful, you'll always get some lipstick smushed on the inside of the clear plastic cap. However, YOLO and this lipstick is so worth it. The shape is different from most lipsticks: a slanted, round stick, which I actually find very pleasant to work with. It's staying power is pretty great as well. Thumbs up all round!

Now, the proof is in the pudding: is this a perfect dupe? I compared it with a phone picture I took months ago when I tried on Diva in store (when it was still available, triple ugh). This also explains the sort of crappy image quality, as I had to use the same equipment for an honest comparison. Since I don't own MAC Diva myself, I couldn't compare the two as thoroughly as I did for my MAC Velvet Teddy dupe post, but I tried my best!

Verdict: I could have done a better job at painting my lips in the bottom image, but ding ding ding we have a winner! I feel like Cherry Bomb is slightly more glossy, and because of that it also catches the light more and seems slightly less saturated than Diva. Diva also seriously glides on perfectly opaque in one layer, while Cherry Bomb needs a little bit of work. However, the difference is minimal, and I can warmly recommend it as a dupe! Absolutely worth the Amazon order, or the trip to your drugstore if it's sold in your country in case you don't want to spend 18€ on a lipstick, or if you're not sure whether this is a colour you'll wear often. A low budget trial-run, in a way.