It's A Dupe Takeover

Everyone loves a beauty dupe but are we getting duped?

Dior DOOP, Chanel DOOOP, Charlotte Tilbury DOOOOP. By now, you’ve probably seen viral dupe (short for ‘duplicate’) videos all over social media and currently, the dupe hashtag has over 4.6 billion hits and counting . We’re well and truly engulfed in the dupe world and this is probably just the beginning. 

The beauty industry is a world of its own, with its own set of rules. In industries such as the arts, or fashion, dupes are almost a big no-no, or they used to be. In the beauty landscape, however, dupes are very much welcomed and even pioneered by the industry 

Digital beauty communities were among the first to embrace dupes, with social media accounts dedicated solely to dupes to dupe influencers reigning supreme in the influencer hierarchy. Beauty dupe culture is thriving and it shows no signs of stopping.

A dupe is a duplicate, but not an exact copy. It presents itself as an affordable option to a higher-end product that is often trending – a dupe has the majority, if not all of the same qualities of the higher-end product. 

If the numbers are anything to go by, we certainly can’t get enough of them; there were 16,200 monthly searches for dupes of Clinique's Black Honey lipstick, after a massive TikTok revival. There are 14,800 monthly searches for dupes of the Dyson's Airwrap, currently all over social media, pitted as the must-have hair tool. 

Social media plays a vital role in the beauty dupe culture. Instagram account @dupethat was solely created to keep their 1.3 million followers updated with the latest and best dupes available on the market. The hashtag #makeupdupes has over 90 million views and counting on TikTok, and it doesn’t stop, on Reddit, the r/makeupdupes thread is constantly being updated with new affordable beauty dupes. It’s dupe culture on speed, and everyone gets a piece of the pie.

The combination of an ever-growing beauty industry, consumer peer pressure and mass capital consumption mean that beauty dupes are in demand, as they establish an easier access point for many people. The glass skin trend, for example, was a  trend which was affordable for many but it appealed to our desires for clear, glowing and glass-like skin, and  dupes provided a way in. It’s easy to fathom how dupes have taken over, a dupe for the popular SKII essences (£120) in the basket, an affordable “juicy” hyaluronic acid, why not, it’s glass skin but at a fraction of the cost, or at least that’s the illusion dupe content gives.

The pandemic and now the cost of living crisis has majorly impacted our shopping habits. Purchases are no longer care-free, we’re trying to make better decisions, only buying the things we need but in a society that is fuelled by capital consumption, that is no easy feat. This is where dupes seemingly take the load off. According to WGSN’s Big Ideas 2023 report, “beauty dupes are flourishing because consumers are unable to buy products in the traditional ways, for instance asking for advice from sales associates in store. The report adds that consumers have turned to digital communities and apps to seek advice on all aspects of beauty, and dupes are hugely popular in these spaces”. 

On the surface level, dupes certainly create an entry point for beauty, especially in terms of affordability. Scratch the surface, and all is not rosy with dupe culture. Beauty dupes could in itself very much be just another beauty trend, like the many that have come before it, like skin cycling or the #shelfie trend. Ultimately, they work to perpetuate the idea that more is better and encourage us to buy more and more - more products that we could ever need for one face. 

Are beauty dupes just one big dupe? The growing popularity of dupe culture is a great tool for marketers, and that is for all brands involved. The content creates hype around the products involved, creating an infinite flow of product promotion. Would it be so shocking to assume that the beauty industry has figured out a way to hijack dupe culture and make it work in their favour? It never stops at a dupe, you’ll always be tempted by the original product that started the craze, too.

One of the definitions of dupe is “to deliberately confuse or scam someone”, could the beauty industry be duping us all? A bold assumption, or maybe not? Our skin is a pretty incredible organ, and human beings have survived centuries without beauty products, and our skin did just fine catering to the skin needs. 

The never-ending hype and spending expenditure are a killer combo, destroying our environment. Zero Waste reported the beauty industry contributes over 120 billion units of packaging, with only a small fraction of that being recyclable. A growing dupe-obsessed culture is no doubt furnishing the growing issue. Of course, it’s not a beauty dupe problem, but the more beauty products in the world, the more packaging in the world, it’s a never-ending cycle.

It doesn’t stop there, beauty dupes come with concerns over unethical working conditions. Cheaper products mean uncertified dupes, which call ethics into question. Vagueness around ingredient sourcing and production practices means that beauty dupes could be falling into the same path as fast fashion. Yes, there is an increasing community and awareness around beauty dupes on social media, however, there is still a huge amount of uncertainty, misinformation and transparency when it comes to ingredients and formulas, meaning unethical ingredient sourcing and an inhuman production work environment. 

As it is, the beauty dupe culture on the surface level offers many positives to a spectrum of consumers, but is it time to stop looking at through rose tinted glasses?

What do you think, for or against dupes?