Here are my problems:
Problem number 1 – I have (relatively) expensive taste.
This is terrible when you’re a broke grad student like me who has a serious online shopping problem and a huge addiction to everything beauty related.
Problem number 2 – I wear lots of makeup, sometimes I change it multiple times a day. Sometimes I just put it on and take it off for just for fun. Crazy huh? Come on now…you know sometimes you want to do it too.
So, what does 1 plus 2 equal, besides 3? (woohoo! who says English lit majors can’t do math?) Well it’s the simple fact that I often need to find ‘dupes’ for more expensive products that I like, or at least find things in smaller more reasonably priced packages that can be restocked on pay day.
This leads me to the post at hand. A dupe for the M.A.C Makeup removing wipes. I really like these. They take off makeup with ease, they’re soothing and feel nice on the skin, the wipes themselves don’t stretch or tear when you use them and well, they’re just nice. BUT, they are makeup removing/cleansing wipes, which means that ultimately they’re only used once and then chucked in the bin. 
If I was a good girl I’d use these only ‘occassionally’ when I was too tired or travelling or something. But, truth be told, I’m mostly tired every night, especially when I’d rather be watching Revenge in my bathrobe than deep cleansing my face. So, I tend to use wipes A LOT. They’re the perfect way to cleanse in an ad break FYI.
So, back to the dupe thing. I’m going to get mathematical (again! aha!) for a second and tell you that M.A.C Makeup Wipes retail for a whopping $28 here in Australia. (Honestly if I hear one more of you lovely American girls complain about the cost of M.A.C product there I am going to scream – they’re only USD$19 for 45 over there, $28 gets you 100!!) That $28 Aussie bucks will get you 45 wipes. That means these babies go for around 62 cents per wipe. It’s not TERRIBLE price wise I suppose, but, when you have to shell out almost $30 bucks when you need a pack of face wipes, it feels pretty sucky.
Finally though, I found a wipe that retails for significantly less that I think weighs up next to the giant that is MAC.
These are the Johnson’s Daily Essentials Refreshing Facial Cleansing Wipes. 
At $6.99 for 25 (they’re often on special at the supermarket/pharmacy so sometimes you can pick em up cheaper) your intial outlay of funds is a lot less, even if the wipes are in a slightly smaller packet. You end up paying 27 cents a wipe for these. Yup, my calculator is on fire. That’s a 35 cent saving per wipe.
Now, on to the Dupe-ability.
I think the MAC wipes are a little bigger, but not significantly enough to justify a 35 cents more per wipe. And really, how big is your face? It’s not like you’re bathing with these things. The regular size of the Johnson’s wipes does my whole face just fine!
MAC wipes have vitamin E to hydrate, nourish and refresh the skin, the JDEF (I’ve created an acronym, it makes for easier typing) wipes also have ingredients that do the same. Both of the wipes leave your skin feeling ‘refreshed’ but not super tight and dry, or oily. Both remove even the hardest to remove makeup (like colorstay lip colours and waterproof mascara) but they are BOTH gentle on the skin, my skin is sensitive too, and I found both the MAC and JDEF wipes to be agreeable with it. The JDEF wipes list the inbuilt cleanser in their wipes as ‘mild’ and I’d agree with that. Mild, but it packs a punch.
As for packaging, the MAC wipes have a plastic clicky cover to keep the wipes fresh and the JDEF ones have the usual peel and stick closure that you get on lower cost wipes.
But, I have to say, these do reseal pretty well. I can’t tell you how many different types of wipes I have tried that don’t stick when you try to close them, but I can vouch for the glue on the packaging here.
One more thing on packaging, a wipe packet is a wipe packet really.
But I have to say I lean toward the JDEF wipes in regards to colour, they’re pink!! And this is not just because I’m girly, what’s easier to find in a white bathroom? Pink or white? You can answer that one for yourselves beauties.
One final point on these two lots of wipes – there is one big reason why I decided the Johnsons wipes would be a good dupe for MAC – besides the refreshing feeling/cleansing power and quality.
It’s the smell!
I luuuuuuuuuuuuurve the smell of MAC wipes. I think that’s a big reason why I buy them. That signature MAC smell just reminds me of being at the MAC counter and swatching brightly coloured lippies all over my hands or playing in paint pots. BUT the JDEF wipes smell really really similar. It’s a lovely fresh scent, softly floral, refreshing and clean. Give em a try beauties, for $6.99 you never know, you might save a penny or two! (or 35 cents a wipe…to be exact 
).
xxxBeautyScholar
It also contains the essential tunes that everyone needs to get them through the day. My headphones were kind of makeup stained so they’re not pictured, but I had to comment on how essential it is to keep Taylor Swift in your hand bag as well.
