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K-Beauty products have a cult following in their own right and for good reason – they’re well known for their fantastic results, come beautifully packaged, contain stellar ingredients and are very reasonably priced.
But some K-Beauty products also contain similar ingredients to more expensive skincare products. Which high-end ones can you swap over for K-Beauty favs? Read on now to find the best “savies” and skincare dupes in the market now.
STYLE STORY explores the best K-Beauty dupes in 2020:
The Eve Lom Cleanser is a rich and oily cleanser containing chamomile oil, eucalyptus oil and more. It works to break down makeup and remove stubborn eyeliner and mascara.
Swap it for the equally effective Banila Clean It Zero. It works just the same, but comes at a third of the price. In fact, the original Clean It Zero is a cult product in its own right, with one of these cleansers sold every 3 seconds!
We’ve all heard of SK II’s pricey essence, which contains “Pitera” as its star ingredient. This is a yeast ingredient that’s a by-product of the sake brewing process.
However, Missha's Time Revolution First Treatment Essence contains a yeast derived from the same family as Pitera!
In fact, it's packed with 90% fermented yeast concentrate, as well as purple barley and lactin acid. Did we mention it also has niacinamide for brightening? Missha First Treatment Essence is free from parabens, fragrances, alcohol, colorants, silicon and mineral oil.
When you compare the price of the two products as well as their size, Missha’s essence is a steal!
Fresh’s Sugar Face Polish is an exfoliating scrub with a brown sugar base. It not only contains strawberry seeds to exfoliate, but Candelilla wax and fruit seed oils as well.
Skinfood Black Sugar Mask contains many of the same ingredients as Fresh’s version, but is a fraction of the price. That's probabhy why it's one of Skinfood’s best-selling products! It was also the winner of Sure Magazine’s “No 1 Facial Scrub of the Year”.
Check it out for plump, cleansed and brightened skin that radiates sweetness!
Made on a base of kaolin, Glam Glow’s SuperMud Mask works on pores, blemishes, oiliness and blackheads to clear the complexion. However, for a mere 50g it doesn’t come cheap.
On the other hand, K-Beauty brand Cosmetea’s divine Black Tea Pink Clay Mask is also made with kaolin. It also contains bentonite, black tea and camellia oil.
Cosmetea’s mask comes in a whopping 200ml size and looks good enough to eat, offering skin resurfacing benefits that target loss of firmness and elasticity.
This creamy clay mask works to hydrate, tighten and improve uneven skin, which is more than enough to put it among the best K-Beauty dupes in 2020 in our books!
Biologique’s Lotion P50 is an all-in-one toner, balancer and exfoliating lotion that helps speed up the epidermis’ natural exfoliating process.
COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid is a cult Korean Beauty product in its own right, thanks to its ability to prevent the formation of blemishes before they even occur. This oil-soluble chemical exfoliant clears dead skin cells from deep within pores to minimise their appearance and prevent breakouts.
Estee Lauder’s Nigh Repair serum contains the active ingredient Bifida Ferment Lysate, as well as other ingredients that claim to heal, repair, hydrate and aid cell turnover.
Missha Time Revolution Borabit Ampoule affectionately known as the “Borabit” Ampoule thanks to its purple colour (“Borabit” means “purple” in Korean), also contains Bifida Ferment Lysate, along with a whopping 9 other fermented ingredients, multiple peptides, plant extracts and niacinamide.
Considering Missha’s Ampoule is a worldwide bestseller in its own right, it’s a steal at fraction of the price!
Drunk Elephant’s Protini Polypeptide Cream includes a combination of peptides, growth factors, and amino acids in a thick cream that claims to reduce lines, wrinkles, and sun damage. The amino acids act as support by strengthening and fortifying the skin’s barrier.
Luxury K-Beauty brand d'Alba No Sebum Repair Cream comes with the same base of low molecular peptides and 20 essential amino acids and minerals, which work to help firm and improve skin elasticity, wrinkles, and fine lines. It’s also formulated with calamine powder and BHAs to help fight acne, gently remove old skin cells, target sebum, and soothe sensitive skin. Both products are cruelty free and come in a 50ml size.
However, where d’Alba beats Drunk Elephant hands down is in price and the potential to cause breakouts.
Protini’s thicker texture isn’t ideal for those with oily or combination skin, whereas d’Alba’s Peptide Cream comes in a lighter consistency (albeit one that doesn’t compromise on hydration).
That makes d’Alba one of the K-Beauty dupes you’re going to want in your beauty arsenal!
SKII’s RNA Power Anti Aging Eye Cream is a luxurious eye cream made on a base of galactomyces ferment filtrate. It is packed with skin conditioning ingredients in an easily absorbed texture to moisturise, restore suppleness, and reduce fine lines. However, retailing for a few hundred dollars AUD it doesn’t come cheap.
Cult K-Beauty favourite Benton Fermentation Eye Cream ranked highly in blind tests on popular K-Beauty program "Get it Beauty".
Made with the same star ingredient (galactomyces ferment filtrate) as SKII’s version, it also works to hydrate, repair, and protect the skin from damage. It also contains other anti-aging superstars like bifida ferment lysate, beta glucan, aloe, and adenosine to soothe and plump skin, and hyaluronic acid and panthenol to hydrate. Plus, at under $40 it’s a veritable steal.
It might seem funny calling it a dupe (as Tosowoong’s powder wash has reached cult status in its own right), however, when compared to Dermalogica’s popular Daily Microfoliant there’s no denying that both products do have similar star ingredients and a similar texture.
Both contain papain, licorice extracts and starches.
However, Tosowoong’s Powder Wash works for sensitive, hypo-allergenic and acne-prone skin, as it preserves the skin’s delicate acid mantle, meaning its gentle formula is better suited for daily cleansing.
Did we mention it’s only a fraction of the cost?
"Dupes are not the same thing as fakes. They're real products. They just contain similar ingredients to other products on the market. They're a great way to save a buck and grab a bargain!"
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