Luxury Beauty vs Dupe Culture...What’s Actually Worth It?

I remember when buying luxury beauty had so much excitement about it - the kind of excitement I now only feel if I’m buying luxury clothing, bags or shoes. Remember the sleek packaging? The soft click of a high-end lipstick? It was all part of the experience. I admit that my lack of excitement also comes down to age - I’m older, wiser, and blessed to be in a better financial position, meaning I moved on to luxury attire which kind of feels like the gates of heaven opened up. But I still feel like luxury beauty just isn’t as exciting anymore. Back in the day luxury beauty wasn’t just about the product - it was about the fantasy, the story they sold. You weren’t just buying a foundation - you were buying into an aesthetic, a lifestyle, a version of yourself that somehow had it all together.

Out of nowhere, the internet was flooded with side-by-side swatches proving that a $6 drugstore lipstick looked exactly like a $45 luxury one. TikTokers were putting high-end and budget-friendly foundations to the test, showing that in some cases, you couldn’t even tell the difference (even though the real test would have been to see how well they lasted all day). People would wonder why they should spend $$$ on a single makeup routine when you could achieve the same look for a fraction of the price. The dupe culture definitely wasn’t just a passing trend - it’s still here and isn’t going anywhere.