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The beauty expert's dupes that are just as good as the real thing and will save you hundreds - including a Drunk Elephant and Tom Ford double! By Rosie Green For You Magazine Published: 11:56, 21 June 2024 | Updated: 11:56, 21 June 2024 e-mail View comments To misquote Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that every woman loves a beauty bargain. And dupes – products that mimic the look, feel and effect of those many times the price – give the ultimate satisfaction. Remember when Aldi copied Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin products with, er, Hotel Collection No 1 Lime, Basil & Mandarin? So good they sell out over and over again.

But do you get what you pay for? Is a luxury product more efficacious, more responsible – better? I asked Dr Colette Haydon, who has formulated skincare products for some of the most luxurious brands (including her own Lixirskin). ‘I’ve seen bad skincare at all prices,’ she says. ‘Many brands, cheap and expensive, are made at the same manufacturer, so you are not compromising on workers’ conditions.



Often you pay for packaging.’ She does concede that ‘at a very low price point on skincare there will be fillers and you don’t get the quality’. And that ‘natural fragrance is generally ten times more expensive than a synthetic one’, so a brand that uses the former will likely cost you more.

I’ve taken some of my favourite products and put them head-to-head with their dupes. The results may surprise you. Original.

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