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.

mac diva dupe review: wet n wild cherry bomb

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.

mac diva dupe review: wet n wild cherry bomb

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!

mac diva dupe review: wet n wild cherry bomb

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.

7 comments

  1. Oh man, that is like 1.5 euro here. I don't know what shipping is like to Belgium, but I would be happy to help you get stateside brands if you think it would be cheaper in the end!


    Also, this is weird, but I had a dream that you were in. You had a line of duster cardigans embellished with floral rhinestone/gem patterns (cuter than this sounds). You also spoke English with an impeccable American accent. However, I was very frustrated to discover that your cardigans were 67 euro when I saw the H&M tags on them with their original price of 7 euro.

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  2. I know how cheap it is in the US! I have no idea how much it would be either - do you have any idea where I could check that out? It would be lovely if you would be willing to send something over from time to time!

    And your dream sounds awesome, except for the part where I was basically ripping you off. Or maybe you were just having frustrations over fake "handmade" stuff on etsy :D

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  3. I'll check on the US Postal Service site and get back to you!

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  4. I love the dupe. Can you find Wet n Wild in Belgium though? I've a couple WnW products, but none bought in Belgium... so I've no clue. Anywho, I really wanted to point out... that I absolutely love your eye makeup. You wear red-toned colors well! Not everyone can pull that off!

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  5. nope, ordered the lipstick on amazon! Bummer, but nowhere to be found in Belgium. About the make up: I'll actually do a blog post about the make up soon, I've been really into the burgundy eye make up lately. A strange but pretty look, so I'm glad you noticed (and like it)!

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