Best Dupe Products: Save $100s With These Just-As-Great Duplicates of Pricey Items
From facial oil to wine, see what experts have to say about the best quality dupes on the market!
No need to give up on little luxuries: You’ll save a bundle when you shop for a “dupe,” short for “duplicate,” which is a budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They’re just as indulgent for a fraction of the price … if you know how to find them. You can suss out copycats by searching for “dupe” on Instagram, YouTube and other social media platforms, where lots of folks are sharing favorites they’ve found — but we got the pros to share their picks for best dupe products. Keep scrolling for their top picks.
Best dupe for facial oil
Does winter’s cold, wind and low humidity dry out your face? Many folks are willing to pay a whopping $68 for one ounce of the bestselling Drunk Elephant Virgin Luxury Marula Oil to get moisturizing relief. But you can get the same soft, supple skin with Trader Joe’s Marula Facial Oil, which sells for just $6.99 for .85 ounces. That’s because they both contain virgin marula oil, which is made from the first cold-pressing of kernels of the marula tree from southern Africa.
“It has vitamins, like vitamin E, and the essential fatty acids omega-6 and omega-9, which help with hydration of the skin,” says Debra Jaliman, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. “Most products are more complex than this because they have many ingredients, so it is hard to dupe them,” she notes. “In this case it’s one oil. So if you don’t want to buy the original expensive product, try the dupe.”
Best dupe for delicious wine
You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy the best wines. That’s because many lower-priced wines can pass for expensive brands. “I love to find these types of wines,” says Kevin Flannery, owner of Vinyl Steakhouse in NYC and Certified Sommelier. One red wine dupe he recommends: “Rosemount Estate Diamond Label Cabernet Sauvignon (approximately $13), which has dark, full-bodied blue and black fruits with sugar cookie and a thick viscosity, is a nice dupe to some of those big Australian wines, like Penfolds or Mollydooker.” That’s big savings since they can cost over $65 for a single bottle!
Prefer white wine? “Ant Moore New Zealand Estate Sauvignon Blanc (approximately $15) is a great dupe to some of the quality New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs with notes of guava, grapefruit, mango, lemon/lime zest and light straw, hay and bit of wet rock,” says Flannery.
Tip: To find more delicious wines at low prices, check the label for “Estate Grown”. “This means the wine was produced mainly at the winery grounds itself and not blended from all over the state or region,” he explains. Or look for “Reserve”. “This is generally only used when a wine has been chosen over other selections from that vineyard to be of superior quality.”
Related: Study After Study: Having a Glass of Wine With Dinner Can Powerfully Improve Health
Best dupe for plush bath towels
“The best bath towels are made of organic cotton,” says Chris Baeza, Program Director and Assistant Teaching Professor of Design and Merchandising at Drexel University. “That’s because cotton is highly absorbent,” she explains. As a result it dries you better. “And certified organic cotton is free of pesticides, which is important for something that will be used on your body.” The best bath towels are also thick, notes Baeza. “You can tell a towel’s weight by looking at the grams per square meter (gsm) in the description. A weight of 600 gsm is considered medium-weight, which is perfect for everyday use.”
While premium brands (like Coyuchi) cost as much as $48 for a single organic cotton bath towel, there’s a surprising place to find a towel dupe for a lot less: Target! “I love Target’s Casaluna brand,” enthuses Baeza. “And right now one of their organic bath towels that has 700 gsm is just $12!” Want a wider assortment? “You can find more low-cost organic cotton towels at UnderTheCanopy.com,” she says.
Related: Do Your Towels Smell Bad Even After Being Washed? Here’s What You’re Doing Wrong
Best dupe for premium bed sheets
Looking for the most comfortable sheets to sleep on? “My two favorite sheet choices are bamboo and modal,” says textiles expert Deborah Young, Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University FIDM. “That’s because they’re incredibly soft. They’re also naturally antibacterial, which is a good thing because odor comes from bacteria,” she notes. Another bonus: “They absorb sweat and wick it away.” As a result, you sleep more comfortably. “While you can find expensive versions of these sheets, you’ll get the same benefits from lower cost sheets made with the same material,” she points out.
For example, Cozy Earth’s Bamboo Queen Sheet Set sell for $389 while Dillard’s Bamboo Bliss Queen Sheet Set costs just $109. Tip:
Prefer cotton sheets? “Low thread counts (which means how many threads per square inch) can feel scratchy and super-high thread counts can make sheets weak,” Young says. “So, look for 600 to 1000 thread count for softness and durability.”
Bonus: Best grocery drupes
It’s official: You can save cash on food without sacrificing flavor by opting for grocery store private brands! A recent Consumer Reports taste test found that of 70 store brand products tested (such as bread, ketchup and salad dressing), a whopping 76% tasted just as good as name brand equivalents. And they cost up to 72% less per serving.
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