Skincare Dupes: the Ultimate List for 2023

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Last updated: February 21, 2023

We all have favorite skincare products in our beauty routine.

Over time as you use more and more skincare, you get to know what you really like and what works for you.

You develop a few favorites in your skincare routine which work really well for your skin type.

These become essentials that it would be really hard to do without.

While this isn’t a problem if your favorites happen to be all drugstore items, if they are high end skincare products this can be difficult.

With the rising cost of living for all of us, and after all the economic turmoil of recent years, spending your hard earned money on a single skincare product might be a difficult pill to swallow.

Although skincare brands like Drunk Elephant, Tatcha, La Mer, SkinCeuticals and Kiehl’s make amazing products, they are certainly not the most affordable products.

If your bank account is struggling under the weight of your beauty spending, don’t fear.

There are lots of affordable options out there for you to consider.

This is where skincare dupes come in.

You can get very similar products to your favorites, or even complete clones of them, for much less money.

No matter if it’s your favorite eye cream, moisturizer, overnight mask, lip balm, serum or SPF, there is probably a dupe for it.

The best skincare dupes available

Scroll down to see the very best skincare dupes on the market today and find alternatives to holy grail higher-end products at a much more affordable price.

What is a skincare dupe?

A skincare dupe is an affordable skincare product which has very similar ingredients to, or precisely the same ingredients as, a luxury skincare product.

Generally, to be a called a skincare dupe a product needs to be cheaper than the luxury product it is similar to.

Therefore, a dupe is an affordable alternative to products from luxury brands.

Dupes are often found in the drugstore and are a really good way to save money on your beauty buys.

Are skincare dupes worth it?

Skincare dupes are definitely worth looking in to if you want to save money but still get a good quality beauty product.

The beauty industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that makes huge profits each year.

Many high-end products are very expensive and therefore considered to be better when it comes to the quality of the ingredients used.

However, often the key ingredients in cheaper skincare dupes are the same.

You can be paying above the odds for beauty products from prestige brands because of the name attached to them.

That’s not to say that luxury skincare is not a good investment nor worth your money.

If a luxury skincare product works well for your skin then it can be a great option.

If your concern is dark spots, dry skin, fine lines, a damaged skin barrier, or an uneven skin tone, finding something which tackles those concerns effectively is a good thing.

But it is worth noting that you can often find a cheaper alternative to that luxury product which has similar active ingredients and which gives similar results.

The list of skincare dupes

Below are the best skincare dupes available that will save you some serious cash.

These are cult favorite products from high end brands that all have affordable alternatives you can buy instead to get the same results.

The ingredient lists between a skin dupe and the more expensive product is so often very similar.

When it comes to ingredients found in luxury skincare products, they are often replicated in the ingredients list of a cheaper skincare dupe.

Things like sodium hyaluronate (a form of hyaluronic acid), Vitamin E, glycolic acid, Vitamin C, fatty acids, amino acids, and a peptide complex can all be found in inexpensive dupes.

Finding a really good skincare dupe can be a game changer when it comes to both your skin and your bank balance.

At the end of the day, finding a great moisturizer in the drugstore that’s a good dupe for luxury holy-grail products is a no-brainer if you’re trying to save money in today’s climate.

The best products don’t always have to be the ones which cost the most money.

The Best Skincare Dupes

Below are the best skincare dupes you can find in the drugstore, grocery store and online.

There are some amazing affordable dupes below for skincare products from brands like Sol de Janeiro, Tatcha, Charlotte Tilbury, Kiehl's, Supergoop, SkinCeuticals, FOREO, Dr Dennis Gross, Sunday Riley and Glow Recipe.

You can save a lot of money with these affordable dupes for high end and viral skincare products.

Glow Recipe Niacinamide Dew Drops dupes

Glow Recipe's Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops is a lovely skincare serum that brightens the skin while leaving it gorgeously glowy. It's pricey though, so fortunately there are affordable dupes.