Dupe Culture, e.l.f., and the end of luxury beauty?

Culture

Jan 30

What is a Dupe?

Dupes, dupes, dupes! I feel like this word is permanently burned in my brain– whether I’m participating in some weekly online retail therapy or galavanting the aisles in Target, I am constantly searching for the latest, most popular dupe. So, what does this magic word mean? Rolling Stone describes the fashion slang term ‘dupe’ as short for duplicate, or knockoff.

I must admit that I have completely fallen victim to dupe culture. This, however, doesn’t imply that I am blinded to the effects it may have on the beauty segment. Being in business school has done this to me. Every time I grab a drugstore makeup product to avoid the high price tag of its luxury counterpart, I think to myself– is everyone shopping this way? What does this mean for luxury brands? Is a prestigious brand name a sustainable way to generate profit anymore? This is what I will explore in this article.

TikTok as a Beauty Consultant?!

To understand dupe culture, one must first understand how TikTok has impacted the ways in which people, specifically millennials and Gen z users, shop. There are a few reasons why the app has become the beauty consultant of our generation. First is its emergence as a search engine. While it may be overlooked as a standard feature, TikTok’s search bar is an integral part of its model. Let’s say I’m a beginner makeup user wanting some product advice. I log onto TikTok and type “makeup products for beginners.” Immediately, I am presented with thousands of results. At this point, there are two factors that build trust and come back to TikTok as my preferred form of search– its results are short-form and user-created.

Often described as “snackable” content, short-form videos quickly capture attention and get a point across. It’s not difficult to see why this type of content best fits into our busy routines– why prepare a whole dinner when you can just grab a snack? TikTok does bite-sized content best, with its maximum timestamp being only three minutes.

The “influencer” or “content-creator” title, though relevant, already feels a little antiquated to discuss. The impact that influencers have had on the fashion and beauty industries goes without saying. However, when it comes to dupe culture, this impact cannot be overstated– especially that of the everyday influencer, which I define as an individual with a small following (less than 5k followers) who makes review-style content. It makes sense that many of us gravitate to and trust the advice of users who appear to be “just like us,” which explains why Amazon customer reviews have contributed so greatly to the monstrosity’s success and Yelp reviews often determine which restaurants we’re willing to try. This is especially true when there seems to be a collective consensus. Robert Ciadini describes this phenomenon in his book Influence: The Power of Persuasion– “one means we use to determine what is correct, is to find out what other people think is correct.” Cialdini refers to this as social proof. “People trust first-person testimonials when making purchase decisions, especially if there are many of them and they’re unanimous in their endorsement. The herd mentality is a powerful force across humanity.” TikTok has harnessed this force and made us obsessed with finding all the cult-acclaimed beauty dupes of the moment.

Eyes, Lips, Face!

So, what are some examples of these infamous dupes? Who is talking about them? Who is buying them? Well, let’s start with one of the biggest beauty brands at the moment– e.l.f Beauty. If you aren’t familiar, e.l.f., an acronym for “eyes, lips, face” was founded in 2004 by two fashionably savvy men– Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba. The two desired to “create a line of cosmetics to cater to higher-income shoppers, approaching the dollar market, offering them higher quality and innovation, all at a low price."

This dream became a reality and now, 21 years later, e.l.f. is proving itself to be a beauty staple more than ever before. I dare you to open TikTok, search e.l.f., and see how many results pop up. From there, see what products are recommended to you. Not only are the majority of the products you will see aesthetically pleasing to look at– take the Halo Glow Liquid Filter or Big Mood Mascara’s iconic packaging, for example– they are also extremely affordable, with product prices ranging from $1 to $50. What makes the brand stand out most, however, is its ability to recreate formulas of luxury products and offer them at a fraction of the price. One of the most popular e.l.f. dupes is its $10 Power Grip Primer– an exact replica of the award-winning $36 Hydro Grip Primer from Milk Makeup. While we may not know exactly how much revenue each product brought its respective company, we do know that e.l.f. wrapped up its 2022 fiscal year with $392 million worth of sales compared to Milk’s estimated $190 million, which was generated in collaboration with its sister companies. This is the power of a dupe.

TikTok influencers like Kelly Strack, Manny MUA, and Mikayla Nogueira rave about e.l.f. dupes, often proclaiming the superiority of the brand’s products to their more expensive twins on the market. Gen Z is listening and these dupes are flying off shelves. Halo Glow, a $14 dupe for Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter, for example, is actually so scarce that it is now being listed pre-owned on eBay. I recently saw a bottle with a bid of $27.99. The dupe has become so popular that it is being purchased used for nearly the same price as the luxury version. And e.l.f. is not slowing down! Products have been rolling out like crazy recently, and they are tailored to the desires of the modern beauty consumer. Skincare ingredients, for example, are not forgotten in the brand’s product formulations– some recent, already TikTok viral essentials include the Power Grip Primer + 4% Niacinamide, Holy Hydration! Face Cream, and Suntouchable! Whoa, Glow SPF 30– all of which acknowledge and cater to Gen z’s desires to enhance their natural beauty while protecting their skin without charging an arm and a leg.

Huda Beauty, “E.l.f. Just Duped Charlotte Tilbury's $40 Airbrush Filter And We're Shook”, 2022

What does this mean for luxury brands?

Here’s the short answer– we don’t know. What is evident, however, is that the luxury brand name is simply not enough to appeal to all beauty consumers. Of course, there will always be shoppers who prioritize the name over the actual quality of the product, but dupe culture has, at minimum, planted seeds to these consumers that there is a different, equally as popular, way to shop. In fact, shopping according to the latest dupes doesn’t make you less ‘cool’ – dupes are the new ‘cool!’ – and, unless your formulas contain super-luxe, rare ingredients, there is always a chance that a less-expensive brand like e.l.f. may steal your thunder. Ultimately, as consumers, our only responsibility is to purchase items that work for us and don’t burn a hole in our pockets. For that reason, I say we discover all the dupes and continue to look like a beauty queen on a budget.