No matter how much affordable skincare is on our #shelfie, we still have those luxury guilty pleasures that make our way into our cart at checkout. I am always on the hunt for the perfect dupe for these expensive favorites so I can hold out and rebuy only when they go on sale (once a year typically, lol). I polled my followers on instagram- follow me!- so that I could include the most popular pricey skincare favorites.
What Exactly Counts as a Dupe?
First of all, let’s define the word Dupe for this blog. We can all have different ramifications for what counts as a dupe, so I want to make it clear what my main points are.
- Price: The product needs to be significantly cheaper. Most of the time I want to be spending around half of the original product price!
- Ingredients: Obviously the ingredients will never be an identical match. But the main key ingredients or theme of the product should be very similar!
- Accessibility: A product really isn’t a dupe if it isn’t easy to find. I think it preferably should be found in drugstores or easily ordered online.
Best Skincare Dupes 2022
Facial Cleansers
Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser – $36, 8 fl oz. A cult favorite from YTTP, this daily gel cleanser includes key ingredients such as green tea, kale, spinach and vitamins C and E. It foams up nicely and works for all skin types, especially oily.
DUPE: Acure Ultra Hydrating Green Juice Cleanser – $12.99, 4 fl oz. This vegan cleanser also spotlights Spinach as well as a plethora of plant and fruit extracts to cleanse all skin types. The texture is not quite gel, but it does foam up similarly. Works for all skin types, too! I especially compare it to YTTP since it names adaptogens and supergreens on the label.
Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Meltaway Cleansing Balm – $36, 3.4 oz. Everyone seems to loveeee this cleansing balm. It easily cleanses off all makeup, sunscreen and grime from the skin using key ingredients of papaya enzymes, sunflower oil, and moringa.
DUPE: Physicians Formula The Perfect Matcha 3-in-1 Melting Cleansing Balm – $13.99, 1.4 oz. This one is considerably smaller than the OG Farmacy so definitely keep that in mind. I am still counting it as a dupe because it hits the mark on accessibility and key ingredients. This Physician’s Formula balm also uses flower extracts and fruit oils and has a similar texture. It is touted as a very close dupe online!
Eminence Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser – $42, 8.4 fl oz. This cleanser is a long time favorite of mine and my husbands! It is a creamy lather that uses key ingredients like cucumber juice, yogurt, tea tree oil and willow bark extract. This organic option uses plant extracts to keep the skin clear but not dry.
DUPE: Peach Slices Acne Clarifying Cleanser – $10.99, 4 oz. This is probably the closest dupe I could find to the Eminence cleanser. Peach Slices is a great Korean skincare brand you can find at Ulta. They share the key ingredient of cucumber extract and other plant extracts. The texture is gel rather than cream and would probably be better suited for oilier skin.
Eye Creams
Kaplan MD Diamond Contour Ultimate Hydrating Firming Eye Serum – $105, 1 oz. This is such a gorgeous luxury anti-aging eye product. It stands out because of the potent peptides, HA, and powerful plant extracts. It is a very light gel serum that sinks in immediately. This is used for tightening the eye area and improving signs of aging.
DUPE: Derma E Stem Cell Eye Lifting Treatment – $23.95, 0.5 oz. In order to dupe such a pricey, luxurious product it really needs to have the same key ingredients. This Derma E serum includes potent copper peptides and a long list of plant extracts! It is a more creamy texture, but sinks in relatively quickly too. It also claims to help lift, firm and tighten.
Moisturizers
Tatcha The Water Cream – $69, 1.7 fl oz. One of my personal guilty pleasures is this lovely moisturizer from Tatcha. What makes this product unique is the very light gel texture that hydrates and smoothes the skin. It uses dimethicone to create that “film” to seal in the moisture, and antioxidant rich Japanese superfoods.
DUPE: Bliss Drench & Quench Cream To Water Hydrator – $24, 1.7 oz. This is very similar in the texture and feel of the Tatcha moisturizer. It also has dimethicone to lightly hydrate but seal in the moisture. It does not include the coveted Hadasei-3 complex used in Tatcha fomulas, but does still have fruit and plant extracts.
La Mer The Moisturizing Soft Cream – $200, 1 oz. I think this may be a placebo effect thing telling people that somehow a moisturizer this expensive is actually worth it. It uses their trademarked Miracle Broth, lime tea and giant sea kelp. It is a lightweight but ultra hydrating creamy moisturizer.
DUPE: Weleda Skin Food – $18.99, 2.5 fl oz. Weleda has been around for a hundred years creating staple formulas that can be used by all skin types. Similar in texture and hydration, but does not include the same ingredients (not surprising!). It does have sweet almond oil and flower extracts. I have seen many people agree that this counts as a worthy dupe contender for the ever bougie La Mer.
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream – $68, 1.69 oz. Another cult favorite moisturizer, which used to be in my daily rotation. I love the packaging of this which dispenses just the right product. It obviously uses key peptides to help the skin’s overall firmness.
DUPE: The Inkey List Peptide Moisturizer – $14.99, 1.7 oz. One thing Inkey List couldn’t get right was duping the packaging from DE. The OG moisturizer came in the exact same airless pump packaging, but it was just faulty and had negative reviews. Luckily, they re introduced it in their classic tube packaging that is impossible to mess up. So, even though the packaging is not the same- it still includes similar key ingredients at less than half the price: plant stem cell and 1% peptide formula to improve signs of aging.
Farmacy Honey Halo – $48, 1.7 oz. This is a super creamy moisturizer perfect for dry and sensitive skin types. It uses propolis + royal jelly blend, plant ceramides and shea butter. The packaging of this cream is so beautiful. It is a glass jar with a magnetic top so your little spatula always stays on top!
DUPE: Skin Food Royal Honey Propolis Enrich Barrier Cream – $20-$24, 2 oz. I love this dupe option! If you are looking for honey in your skincare, definitely check out Korean skincare brands as it is already a popular ingredient. This moisturizer has a gel texture and uses royal jelly + honey along with ceramides and plant extracts!! The packaging is also vanity-worthy.
Sunscreens
Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40 – $36, 1.7 oz. What makes this sunscreen unique is the clear finish that works on all skin tones and as a perfect base for makeup. It is a chemical formula that includes dimethicone as well to smoothe the skin texture.
DUPE: Kroger Sunscreen Invisible Gel SPF 40 – $10.99, 3 oz. This one is seriously the perfect dupe. It feels sooo similar to the Supergoop, in fact I actually prefer this one! It is still a clear formula that uses chemical filters and dimethicone to work for all skin tones.
Serums
Sunday Riley Good Genes – $85, 1 oz. A potent lactic acid treatment that brightens the skin and improves various signs of aging. It is a creamy texture that feels smoothe when applied. Key ingredients include licorice, lemongrass and aloe.
DUPE: Naturium Vegan Lactic Acid Emulsion 5% – $25, 1.7 fl oz. This is also one of my favorite dupe finds! Also uses a potent blend of lactic acid and soothing aloe to exfoliate and improve the look of fine lines. It also has a super creamy texture!
Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Acid Serum – $300, 1 oz. No one…and I repeat NO ONE…needs to spend more than $100 on an HA serum. This serum claims to be a “super booster against wrinkles” by using highly concentrated hyaluronic acid.
DUPE: Youth To The People Triple Peptide + Cactus Hydrating + Firming Oasis Serum – $54, 1 oz. Although this is still pricey, it is the best dupe for a $300 serum because it uses a blend of ingredients that give similar results for signs of aging. I love the texture and feel of this one! It has 4 types of hyaluronic acid as well as powerful peptides. This is the better choice in my opinion.
Biologique Recherce P50 Toner – 1.7-8.4 oz, $32-$109. Another classic favorite, this exfolaiting toner has a unique blend of AHAs, PHAs, and BHAs to improve acne, pores and dull skin. It also contains phenol, a very potent exfoliating and antimicrobial ingredient not found in many products. It is a liquidy formula that is recommended to be swiped on the skin with a cotton round morning and evening (yikes, I wouldn’t do that personally).
DUPE: Hero Cosmetics Balancing Capsule Toner – $12.99, 4.4 fl oz. I really love this dupe for a couple reasons. To me, it has a similar effect for the skin while including even more skin-loving ingredients! This formula not only has AHAs and BHAs but also hydrating hyaluronic acid, oil capsules, and green tea water. This also improves acne, pores and dull skin!
Luxury Skincare Dupes Wrap-up
Although there is nothing wrong with buying our pricey favorites, sometimes it just isn’t in the budget! Or we really want to try these cult favorites and they’re simply sold out. Without feeling too much FOMO, try one of my best skincare dupes instead. I did all the intensive research for you so you can enjoy doing your skincare, relaxing at home!
Which of these affordable skincare dupes are you going to try first? Thanks for reading!
Wow! This is an awesome list of dupes! I am very interested in several but I truly appreciate you doing the research for the eye cream 😌😍
I hope you are able to pick up some of these dupes and test them out! I always want to help make skincare more accessible. Thanks for reading!