One hallmark of the 2020s has been the rise in popularity of the “dupe.”
Previously known as a knockoff or imitation, products that were formerly whispered about in women’s bathrooms and included in YouTube tutorials describing them as affordable alternatives to higher-end items are now marketed out in the open as suitable substitutes for people looking to achieve similar effects from products that cost much less.
The term has even filtered down to drugstore personal and body care, where brands available at Target and Walmart are being imitated at bargain retailers like Dollar Tree.
Shopper Victoria Sofia (@victoriasofia.m on TikTok) shared her most recent trip to her local Dollar Tree location, where she noticed several items in stock were strikingly similar to items she had seen on the shelves of her local Target.
Dupes at Dollar Tree
“Dollar Tree has been coming through with all the high-end dupes this week,” she says in the video.
She shows the first product, a glycolic acid toning solution, which “looks exactly like The Ordinary toning solution.” She then shows a cocoa butter stick, and compares it to the Vaseline cocoa butter stick.”
“They also had a fragrance-free version, which looks like the original one, which is like $7 at Target, so that’s great,” she shares. “Then I found this hemp lotion in the same pineapple scent and this one in the same original scent, and those are $20 at Target.”
She says she also found a shaving cream, body washes, and mini powder puffs that were reminiscent of items from brands like EOS, Olay, and Real Techniques respectively.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Victoria Sofia via comment on the video and email, as well as to Dollar Tree via email about how it sources such products.
@victoriasofia.m Dollar tree dupeees 🛍️ #dollartree #dollartreefinds #dollartreehaul #dollartreemakeup #dollartreemusthaves #boujeeonabudget #shopping #shopwithme #affordableskincare #affordablemakeup ♬ original sound – Victoria Sofia
Are dupes worth it?
While products may be marketed and packaged in a way that is similar to other popular options, this does not always mean they will perform the same way. It can also be difficult to suss out whether a product actually performs similarly to its more expensive counterpart, defeating the purpose of the less expensive product for many of its intended customers.
Paired with influencer marketing, the rebranding of knockoff and counterfeit items as fashionable has taken a toll on the wallets of target audiences, as reported by the Washington Post. The one-sided selling of clothing, accessories, makeup, and even snacks from places like the TikTok shop has left many customers dissatisfied with their items that are supposedly a one-to-one version of a product that is just out of reach.
Some influencers have built entire followings around what products available at Dollar Tree are comparable to items on the shelf at big box stores. From claiming that name-brand items are disguised on the shelf, to advising what products could be considered dupes, content from shoppers of the discount store is quite prevalent on TikTok.
Viewers encouraged Victoria Sofia to compare the ingredients themselves, to see how close they were to being one-to-one dupes of the products she is claiming they are similar to.
“PPlease check them on the Yuka app, I’m interested to see how they rate,” one commenter wrote.
“You should compare the ingredients! I would want to see that!” another echoed.
“Are the ingredients the same?” one asked.
Others asked where her Dollar Tree store is located, as their local branch of the chain discount store does not have stock that resembles what she showed.
“Which dollar trees are y’all going to because none of mines have these products,” one commenter wrote.
“All my dollar tree have is a long line and 1 cashier,” a commenter wrote.
“I think my Dollar Tree is broken,” another said.
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