How beauty dupes became a new form of social status

This article will be published in the Budget Beauty Trend Report. Receive your copy here

Gone are the days when buying a knockoff was something to keep secret.

Today’s beauty consumers are hungry for cheaper versions of pricier products in an era marked by the cost of living crisis and amid fears of recession.

Enter copycats and duplicates, otherwise known as dupes. Nearly a third (29%) of European consumers have bought beauty dupes, according to new research from Circana, while for those aged between 18 and 34-years-old, that rises to more than half (52%). When it comes to fragrance specifically, 50% of shoppers purchased a dupe in the UK in 2024 (source: Mintel).

Years of high inflation have turned shoppers into relentless bargain hunters and made low-price alternatives acceptable, says Circana in its Eat, Play, Love report. Other factors are the increasing prioritisation of self-care and consumers being unwilling to give up these comfort purchases when times are hard.

But social media is also a key driver, as users are inundated with the new must-have product launches. “Above all, the role of social media cannot be overstated, especially for younger consumers,”
says the report.

“Today’s social feeds are an infinite scroll of must-have products, multi-step routines and ever-changing trends, so the FOMO (fear of missing out) is real. To a growing number of cost-conscious Europeans, ‘dupes’ are the obvious answer to get their hands on the products they crave, for less.”