Product Dupe: Milani v. MAC

I was thisclose to making a purchase at MAC, but the people at my local freestanding store are either, too pushy, too suspicious, or arrogant.  I've been a little down, so I didn't really feel like having to get my game face on to swatch the new collection.  I don't mind relying on other people's opinion, but I feel like there's an art to applying makeup on me and discerning if it is something worth purchasing or passing. 

So, I pacified my time by playing in my stash.  I sent loads of stuff abroad to my cousins who know nothing about makeup.  They're quite conservative and don't really thing anything but lipstick is a necessity.  I don't mind, they fancy me to be the "strange" cousin.  So I found this creme strobe tint by MAC, and I remember it was the reason I passed on those drops a few collections back.  I bought it for around 25 USD with the intent on adding a touch of "glow" to my complexion.  I thought since my skin is so dark, what would bronzer do?  I mean for fair skin it's sold as a tool to add color and is applied to where the "sun would naturally hit your face.  So after a few women of color told showed me different and how to apply it, I bout this and never used it. I got it home and the coppery tone concerned me since my skin turns orange with foundation and I only wear foundation on special occasions and I haven't had any lately.

Milani v. MAC on dark skin

I am neutral about MAC, so that said, I wasn't very impressed with the application.  Neither has the ingredients listed, but judging by the texture, the strobe tint is a much thinner consistency than the Milani bronzer.  It's also much sheerer.  The Milani has a trio of colors blended together to form one shade.  It's a thick custard consistency and is quite smooth for a drugstore brand.

swatched on white towel

I really wish I had a friend with fair skin to be fair with my swatches.  I love that Karla Sugar swatches the whole lot of colors from the darkest to the lightest.  Many people forget about ranges outside of themselves.  Swatching on a napkin feels inconsiderate, but a) I can barely take proper photographs, and b) I don't have any mates here.  It's also dark right now at half nine so ....

The good: Both go on smooth and light on the skin.  There was no oily feeling and my skin didn't feel like it was melting.  Neither oxidized after an hour.
The bad:  Milani is much cheaper than MAC and it is more opaque as well.  At around $3.99 this really kicks MAC's arse and that's enough to get my card revoked but I'm the idiot who bought both!
The bottom line:  Milani beats MAC hands down in this round.  I don't really buy much Milani, it's not as easy to find.  They have lovely nail varnishes and eyeliner, but I'm not biased toward them over MAC at all, but these are my opinions based on this experiment.

what do you think?

xoxo