6 dupes for Sabrina Carpenter's favourite $72 lipstick
From $11 to $50, there's an alternative for every budget.
Sabrina Carpenter gave us a glimpse at the lipstick responsible for her signature bold lip in the music video for her single "Taste", but as it turns out the singer was hinting at more than her favourite lipstick shade.
Carpenter has just been announced as Prada Beauty's global ambassador, but she's been hinting at the partnership in her music videos for months. If you were paying close attention you might have spotted a bullet of Prada Beauty lipstick in the "Please Please Please" and "Taste" music videos.
"It was so fun to drop little hints for my fans," Carpenter shared in a recent interview with Vogue. "My music videos are such a labour of love, so I love incorporating elements that are authentic to me and add to the overall storyline. One of the reasons I’m excited about launching this with Prada Beauty is because their products emphasise some of my favourite features and give the perfect level of glam that makes me feel feminine but still sophisticated."
You've no doubt noticed that Carpenter has a signature makeup look that she rarely strays from: "Glowing skin, a statement lip, blushed cheeks, and fluttery lashes."
"I try to keep it simple, fresh, and natural so that it looks like I’m wearing the makeup instead of the makeup wearing me," she explained.
And like the rest of us, the singer favours a lip balm above all else. Her go-to? "It’s without a doubt the Prada Blue Balm," Carpenter revealed. Unfortunately, for those of us living down under, it's almost impossible to get your hands on.
Her favourite lipstick, however, does ship to Australia — but it will set you back $72. So, what's so special about Prada Soft Matte monochrome refillable lipstick in 'Tonka' ($72 from Selfridges)?
The soft matte formula is buildable and can be stamped onto the lips for a blurred, lip blush look, or layered on for a more opaque finish. Whilst the shade itself exists within that realm of 'your lips but better' lipsticks like Clinique's Black Honey, but unlike the balmy finish of Black Honey it's a more adaptable lipstick texture that transitions easily from day to night.
Understandably, just because you love the shade and soft matte finish of Carpenter's lipstick of choice, doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the budget for it.
Which is why we've taken the liberty of hunting down some dupes that range from $11 to $50 that are all bangers in their own right.
The best dupes for Sabrina Carpenter's lipstick
1/ BBIA Last Powder Lipstick in 'Brown Sugar'
from $10.99 at StyleVana
Hailing from South Korea, this pick has a powder soft matte finish and an intensely rich pigment that ensures the longevity of your lip look. Designed to effortlessly create the trendy gradient 'popsicle lip' that's so popular in South Korea, the lipstick can be applied to the centre of the lip and blended outwards to emulate a blurred lip line. This is almost a near perfect shade match, but as the name might suggest 'Brown Sugar' leans more brown than Prada's 'Tonka'. However, if you're more of a brown lipstick girly that might not be the biggest problem in the world.
2/ Maybelline Superstay Teddy Tint Lipstick in 'Knee High'
from $15.99 at Chemist Warehouse
The recently released Maybelline Superstay Teddy Tint offers a lightweight take on powder matte lip colour. The creamy formula can be layered for a customisable tinted lip look that dries down to a velvety soft matte finish. As far as the shade 'Knee High' goes, it's just a touch pinker than Prada 'Tonka', but the shade does deepen if you layer the formula onto your lips.
3/ Glossier Generation G in 'Fuzz'
from $37 at Glossier
If you love the shade of Carpenter's favourite lipstick, but prefer a balmier texture, then you can't go past a tube of the classic Generation G lipstick from Glossier in the shade 'Fuzz'. Just like the Prada formula, this pick has a matte finish, but without the opacity making it a more wearable, sheer option for everyday.
4/ Zoeva Velvet Love Matte Hyaluronic Long-Lasting Lipstick in 'Selin Nude Rose'
from $38 at Sephora
If you prefer the finish of a traditional opaque matte lipstick then you need to try this 'your lips but better' shade, because this pick from Zoeva was formulated with comfortable all-day wear in mind. It contains Triple Moisture Restore Technology and Velvet Flex System Technology, which coats lips in a lightweight layer of hydrating and flexible lip colour.
5/ M.A.C Cosmetics Powder Kiss Lipstick in 'Stay Curious'
from $44 at M.A.C Cosmetics
Though it may look deceptively coral-hued in the bullet, this lipstick is a bang on shade match for Prada's 'Tonka'. Plus, the moisturising, matte and weightless formula creates the perfect blurry, effortless soft focus colour.
6/ Pat McGrath Labs Dramatique Mega Lip Pencil in 'Flesh 3'
from $50 at Sephora
We've been in love with this half-lipstick, half-lip liner hybrid from Pat McGrath Labs since it's launch earlier this year. The chunky pencil applicator tip makes it easy as pie to apply a crisp, bold lip on the go, but we love blending and buffing it into our lips for a faded finish too. As for the shade match? 'Flesh 3' is the grungy '90s supermodel answer to Prada's Gen-Z inspired sultry, deep nude 'Tonka'.
Main image credit: @sabrinacarpenter
Don't care about price tags and want to look just like Sabrina Carpenter? This is her exact blush combo.
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
