Beauty Pie Makes Near-Exact Dupes for Luxury Beauty Products—And These 10 Products Are Just as Good as Their Pricier Counterparts
If it seems like your favorite beauty products are more expensive, it’s because they are. While inflation has eased since last year, prices are still higher than they were before the pandemic. The effects of which are evident pretty much anywhere you look, from the grocery store to the gas station.
According to NielsenIQ data as reported by Global Cosmetic Industry Magazine, the beauty industry as a whole is facing a 10 percent increase in average unit price every year—with cosmetics and skin- and hair-care products bearing the brunt of it. As a result, “prestige” beauty products are a whole lot pricier. Thankfully, we have Beauty Pie, the beauty buyers club that gives members access to high-quality, luxury beauty products without the regret-inducing price tag.
- Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology and associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital
More about Beauty Pie
Launched in 2016 by serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore—the woman who gave us Bliss Spa (Bliss) in the ’90s, and the iconic footwear brand FitFlop—Beauty Pie set out to make the best in beauty more accessible.
“I love beauty. I love being able to help women look better and feel more confident. It’s fun. It gives me an enormous amount of energy. It’s my ‘thing,’” Kilgore says in an interview on Beauty Pie. “But negotiating margins with retailers, pretending that luxury products are worth up to 10x more than they actually cost to manufacture, that has always made me really uncomfortable.”
Tapping into her decades worth of beauty experience, Kilgore went directly to the labs and suppliers (the same ones that make most of your favorite prestige products, BTW) to develop Beauty Pie’s top of the line skin-care, hair-care, and makeup products, and make them available for a fraction of the price. Ostensibly cutting out the industry and retailer markups and saving members up to a whopping 70 percent (hold for applause) on luxury beauty, so everyone can experience high-end products without the high cost. So, instead of shelling out upwards of $100 for that fancy French night cream at the department store (absorbing the cost of the luxe packaging, marketing, and retailer markups in doing so), you can get the same cream for half the price on Beauty Pie—and in chic packaging, no less.
How it works
You can sign up as a Beauty Pie Monthly Member starting at $10 a month, or as a Beauty Pie Plus Member for $5 a month ($59 billed annually). And to sweeten the deal, all new members get a free 60-day trial. You can also shop on Beauty Pie without being a member, but you’d be missing out on the discount, which is the best part.
Use the code WELLGOOD10 to get $10 off a Beauty Pie membership subscription to Beauty Pie, plus a free 60-day trial.
Besides, the membership pays for itself—most members earn back the cost of their membership on their first Beauty Pie experience. There are pages upon pages of drool-worthy beauty and wellness products to peruse on its site, many of which are dupes for pricier, prestige brands. After Well+Good commerce writer Danielle Calma and I tested some of Beauty Pie’s most beloved offerings over the past few months, I can confidently say it’s a club worth joining. Read on for the 10 luxury dupes that have me totally convinced.
The 10 best luxury dupes to shop on Beauty Pie
Membership price: $19
Non-member price: $38
This niacinamide serum has an impressive 4.6-star overall rating on the Beauty Pie site, and I understand why. It touts a 10 percent concentration of niacinamide, a must for strengthening your skin barrier and reducing the look of dark spots, according to derms. “It also helps calm inflammation and supports healthy collagen production,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, board-certified dermatologist in New York City previously told W+G. The water-light serum also contains Beauty Pie’s EverMat and Oxygeskin complexes, which help reduce the look of pores and breathe new life into skin for a clear, smooth, and plumped up complexion.
Comparative to: Dr. Barbara Sturm Better B Niacinamide Serum ($160)
Membership price: $25
Non-member price: $60
You don’t have to dig deep into your savings account for a quality face moisturizer. Case in point: the Beauty Pie Super Healthy™ Skin Anti-Aging Cream. It’s powered by hyaluronic acid and a lineup of plant bioactives that aid in collagen production and protect against free-radical damage caused by pollution and harsh UV rays—all for $25. The nearly weightless moisturizer leaves skin supple, with a dewy-but-not oily sheen. It also yields results over time: In an independent clinical trial, 100 percent of participants reported softer, smoother, and more hydrated skin in four weeks.
Comparative to: Dr. Barbara Sturm Face Cream ($240)
Membership price: $49
Non-member price: $93
The Youthbomb 360° Radiance Concentrate makes a lot of promises—claiming to smooth, firm, tighten, and brighten skin, all while hydrating and leaving a radiant glow behind. Better yet, it actually delivers on those claims. Developed in partnership with consultant dermatologist Andrew Markey, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, Youthbomb is chock-full of potent ingredients to unlock your glowiest, bounciest skin yet, like peptides, soothing hydrators, and firming proteins. The golden, jelly-like serum absorbs into my skin with ease, and leaves it looking visibly more hydrated, luminous, and plump. And it’s under $50 bucks, which is unheard of for a serum this good.
Comparative to: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum ($125)
Membership price: $50
Non-member price: $88
So much is packed into Beauty Pie’s Youthbomb Biologic Collagen Peptide Cream. Developed also in collaboration with Dr. Markey, it’s powered by over 18(!) active ingredients to visibly hydrate the skin, strengthen the skin barrier, and reduce the appearance of wrinkles as well as sun damage and discoloration. The cream is rich, with some weight to it, and, as stated on the Beauty Pie site, a little goes a long way. As such, it required less product to moisturize the skin, and upon application, it offered the instant relief of deeply nourishing hydration—ideal for folks who want to pacify dry, irritated skin. With everything this cream manages to achieve, you’d think it would come at a hefty price tag. On the contrary, it’ll only set you back $50—a mere fraction of the price of its counterpart, Augustinus Bader’s Ultimate Soothing Cream.
Comparative to: Augustinus Bader The Ultimate Soothing Cream ($300)
Membership price: $14
Non-member price: $24
If you loved the Smashbox X Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector, the Superluminous Under-eye Genius will be your new holy grail. It contains antioxidant-rich vitamin E, along with sunflower and castor seed oils to moisturize the delicate under-eye area, plus light-catching pigments to diminish the look of dark circles and give tired eyes a pick-me-up. A small dab is all you need to instantly look more awake, then follow up with a concealer that’s a match for your skin tone, or wear it alone for light coverage and luminosity.
Comparative to: Smashbox X Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector ($33)
Membership price: $18
Non-member price: $35
Beauty Pie says this moisturizer is like a “cashmere blanket for your face,” and I (along with hundreds of Beauty Pie members) agree. Starring calming cica (aka, centella asiatica or “tiger grass”), hydrating sodium hyaluronate (a derivative of hyaluronic acid), and skin-strengthening ceramides, this Japanese moisturizer deeply nourishes and soothes dry, sensitive, and rosacea-prone skin. It has a balmy-meets-gel-cream consistency that somehow manages to be intensely moisturizing without overwhelming my combination skin. And whenever I overdo it on skin-care and disrupt my skin barrier in the process (which happens more often than I care to admit), the Happy Face Cream helps my skin feel normal (dare I say, happy?) again.
Comparative to: Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream ($48)
Membership price: $12
Non-member price: $21
This Beauty Pie highlighter is an obvious dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Highlighter Wand that’s amassed a cult-following—and it’s honestly even better. It has the same cushion applicator that makes dabbing it on the high points of your face fun, but the superior formula inside gives you a more natural, pearlized glow, without any glitter. I found it to be easier to blend than the CT highlighter, and its weightless formula dries down quickly (without emphasizing dry patches) to create a subtle, soft-focus effect. For only $12, it’s 100 percent worth the membership, if you ask me. PS. Beauty Pie also makes a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand ($16).
Comparative to: Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Highlighter Wand ($42)
Membership price: $19
Non-member price: $32
Beauty Pie’s Awesome Bronze Gradual Self-Tanning Drops might not rival the experience of an idyllic day at the beach, but it can effect the illusion of a just-back-from-vacation glow—which is enough to put us in a sunnier state of mind. It provides an instant tan by way of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), the primary ingredient found in most self-tanners, and combines it with Oligogeline, which is meant to impart along-lasting and streak-free color. Indeed, just a few drops delivers a believable sun-kissed color, along with a dose of moisturizing hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich spirulina. To top it all off, a bottle of the stuff is under $20—a whole lot less than a plane ticket to the Caribbean.
Comparative to: Tan-Luxe The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops ($50)
Membership price: $12
Non-member price: $20
Beauty Pie’s Futurelipstick Matte in the shade Cowboy Nude is comparable to Charlotte Tilbury’s internet-beloved Pillow Talk lipstick, but we think it’s worthy of a spotlight all its own. The matte lipstick offers impressive staying power to withstand several hours of wear without feeling like cement on the lips. It dries down to a velvety finish, and the lightweight formula combines moisturizing orchid and papaya extracts that leave lips smooth long after wear. A perfect marriage of pink and nude, the lipstick is also versatile for everyday wear, but provides enough color payoff to serve as an instant pick-me-up on days when you want to add a little more oomph to your makeup look.
Comparative to: Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick ($35)
Membership price: $33
Non-member price: $55
Green powders are an easy way to get your daily dose of veggies, but reaping their beauty and wellness benefits can get pricey (I’m looking at you, Athletic Greens). Beauty Pie’s Green Me Up Powder contains a similar lineup of good-for-you greens—like wheatgrass, spirulina, matcha, maca, kale, broccoli, and alfalfa—and gut-friendly probiotics, along with adaptogenic mushrooms to help you feel your best, all for nearly half the price of AG1. And if you’ve tried greens powders before, you know they’re an acquired taste, but Green Me Up has a natural apple flavor that’s easy to drink on its own and makes a great addition to smoothies.
Comparative to: AG1 ($79)
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