Is Using a Dupe or Clone a Question of Morality?

I’ve been beauty blogging for over 15 years. Many bloggers back then, myself included, would often rush to our blogs to publish a public service announcement about the latest dupe we’d discovered. 

What are dupes or clones? 

A dupe or a clone is a product that’s been created by one brand, either inspired by, or aimed at somewhat replicating, the original product of another brand. Sometimes this can be very intentional, to appeal to those who don’t have the resources to buy expensive products but would still like to treat themselves. Other times, it can be less direct, and in other cases still, it can be a complete accident.

For clarity, I am NOT talking about blatant rip-offs, like counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags for example. I’m talking about brands that create products that give similar results to the original offering.

What is the attitude towards dupes in the beauty community? 

Fast forward 15 years, and the blogging community is very different. Sharing dupes within the makeup community is now seen as a taboo. It’s seen almost exclusively through the lens of the original manufacturer – influencers who once proudly boasted about discovering the latest dupe, now regularly scold those who talk about them now, because it’s “morally wrong”.

My view on this is that those influencers are probably struggling under the weight of the capitalist boot, afraid that any endorsement of the concept of dupes will jeopardise their relationships with the brands that fund their lifestyle.

We’re in the midst of a seemingly never-ending cost of living crisis. Post-covid, people have been struggling for money, with one hit after another coming our way. Naturally, makeup, cosmetics and beauty in general falls down the priority ordering of life – but people still want, or need, to feel good about themselves, and want to treat themselves.

Any influencers that shame others for buying dupes or clones of makeup are just plain tone-deaf. They themselves likely receive the real deal for free, and are possibly even being paid by them to promote either that specific product, or one of their other products. Even if they don’t have a relationship with that specific brand, they have relationships with others, and these provide them with higher than average salaries. If everyone had access to the same resources, they’d probably turn down the dupes too. But they don’t.

There is another way though. Whilst the makeup community has evolved from being very open, welcoming and community-based in 2009 into something that’s very “mean girls” and elitist in 2025, the world of fragrances is far, far more accepting.

The world of fragrance dupes 

In the fragrance community, you’ll very often hear or see dupes or clones of fragrances being talked about in a positive light. They’re well aware that not everyone can afford to purchase expensive fragrances, and will actually provide genuine comparisons of the real deal with the dupe.

In my experience, the snobbery exhibited within the makeup community is seldom seen in the fragrance community. The vast majority of perfume influencers are not like this at all, and will freely talk about dupes, some even share screenshots of big shot brands threatening them and asking them to remove dupe reviews.

Does paying extra mean better quality?  

I’ve seen some influencers, mainly in the makeup community, say you will get better quality products if you buy the real thing, but this is lazy thinking, and is not always true.

A good example of this is the ELF Power Grip Primer. It is a dupe of Milk Makeup’s Hydro Grip Primer. I’ve tried both of them and was thrilled to find the ELF version was just as good, for much less.

Similarly with fragrances, I own Initio’s Oud For Greatness, as well as a cheaper Arab dupe. I’ve found that the Arab clone lasts much longer on my clothes than Initio’s offering, and I prefer it. I paid £320 for Initio, whereas the Arab dupe was more like £30. If we default to ‘more expensive means more quality’ then you’re absolving the bigger brands of accountability, and effectively giving them free reign to deprioritise producing quality products.

But there’s nuance to this, because some dupes are absolutely awful. There are some terrible takes out there, but to navigate this you just have to read the reviews written by those who actually bought the product with their own money, and were not incentivised to do so. Within the fragrance community, this is easy – Fragrantica has a vast community of passionate users who are everyday people, and freely post their opinions on the perfumes they love or hate.

And just to add another layer of complexity to this, because nothing is ever as simple as ‘black or white’, there are some high end brands who dupe other brands too! For example, Anfasic Dokhoon are a Middle Eastern fragrance brand, who seem to have had a few of their scents ‘borrowed’ by the perfumers at Christian Dior. Dupes only work if they punch up, not down. There’s zero social benefit to ripping off a smaller company.

Is buying a dupe or a clone a question of morality? 

In my opinion, no. It’s your money and you can do what you like with it. I’ve always been against elitist behaviour. 

Don’t pay attention to snobs who get the original sent to them for free or are paid to talk about it whilst having high salaries paid for by makeup companies. Only you know what is best for you with the resources available to you.

Ultimately the choice is yours, and you deserve to feel good too.