16 Great Dupes For Your Favourite Glossier Products

“It’s Vaseline. It’s literally Vaseline,” says Erin. “The first ingredient of balm dotcom is petroleum with a bunch of other ingredients sprinkled in. This lip balm is more of a quick fix personally than an actual solution as far as chapped lips go because once it wears off, my lips are back to being dry again. And I suppose that has to do with the fact that petroleum is an occlusive ingredient, meaning it acts as a thick layer to lock everything in, not to moisturize.

That’s why I recommended the cocoa butter vaseline because that one in particular actually nourishes my lips and once it wears off, my lips feel great. So if you get vaseline, I’d suggest to at least get the cocoa butter one. Otherwise find a good quality lip balm of your choice, one that actually absorbs into your lips, then seal it in with vaseline. OR you can wet your lips, apply hyaluronic acid, then lock it in with vaseline if they’re feeling super dry.”

Erin says, “Yes, one god damn dollar. I bought this after a follower recommended this to me and said it worked just as good as Boy Brow and wasn’t as ashy, and she did not lie. Granted the texture of the brow gel isn’t as waxy as Boy Brow but the brush is still tiny and the formula will still give your brows that natural hairy look while holding them in place.”

“That mist is overpriced and makes your eyes burn. I don’t know what’s in it but it is demonic. Literally anything besides that would be better.”

“According to Hylamide, this is a, ‘next-generation ‘transparent’ foundation designed specifically to make the skin look better for the camera lens while blurring away imperfections in real life,'” says Erin. “Just like the Skin Tint, it’s a filter with light/damn near nonexistent coverage in a bottle. I’m curious to see how this wears because it comes in 3 shades: Transparent, Golden Tan, and Dark Tan. Based on the swatches and reviews I’ve seen, this will provide a tint that’ll give you a warmer glow. This can be applied over, under, or mixed with foundation. We love a multitasking queen.”

Another option is M.A.C Studio Face and Body Foundation. “I know the FAB is $3 more but it goes like dis: The skin tint is literally that, a skin tint. On a scale of 1-10 the coverage is a 1. For $26? Nah. For $26 you get 1 oz/30 mL of product. But with the FAB you get 1.7 oz/50 mL of product for $29. Not to mention the FAB foundation is a similar concept to the Skin Tint. You get that same natural, glory, dewy, skin-like finish but you actually get some coverage with this. I haven’t personally tried it though I’ve been dying to, but the general consensus is that it has a light-medium coverage.”

“Granted it’s an actual foundation BUT it is quite liquid-y, weightless, and has medium coverage,” she explains. “You can also sheer it out to give yourself lighter coverage, but the finish is definitely natural either way.”

Glycolic Acid

“I actually really like this toner after putting it back in my routine since I stopped using it for like a year. A few days after using it again may skin was glowing. Right after I apply this my skin just feels really smooth and hydrated, so don’t be afraid if you think it’s going to dehydrate your skin. It’s a mild solution that has other ingredients like Tasmanian Pepperberry (shez exotic), aloe vera, ginseng, etc. to help avoid any irritation and soothe the skin.”

“You have to live under a rock if you haven’t heard about this toner and the never-ending praise it receives,” says Erin. “This comes in different sizes so it comes at different price points which is cool, it also comes in pad form where you have pre-soaked cotton rounds that you can just swipe on your face which is $18. This has 5% glyolic acid so it’s not too low but not too high either. I think this is a great product to try if you’re starting out with acids since it’s a mild percentage.”

BHA

“My bitch! Y’all know I love this and I prefer it over the Paula’s Choice BHA, and it’s cheaper and so hydrating. It contains 4% BHA as opposed to the 0.5% BHA that’s in the Solution and will work a heck of a lot quicker and better in my opinion. I always see results with this within 2-3 days.”

“It’s $5 (USD) sis. Cinco.”

Lactic Acid

“This is also another great acid to try if you’re a beginner with acids or if you just have sensitive skin. I tried this myself and was pleased at how much it hydrated and softened my skin, but I stopped using it because I personally wasn’t seeing much difference as far as my dark spots disappearing. I’m almost positive it’s because lactic acid is super gentle by nature and this is only 5% (also comes in 10%). My skin has grown tolerant to acids far stronger than this so don’t let my experience steer you away because I’d literally add this back into my routine just for it’s ability to gently exfoliate and soften my skin alone.”

PHA

“This cream contains 3% PHA and is designed to mildly exfoliate the skin while also giving your skin the ability to retain moisture at the same time, as chemical exfoliation can often lead to dryness and dehydration. It also has 50% coconut fruit extract for hydration and 2% niacinamide for brightening purposes. This cream may also be good for you if you’re interested in exfoliation and have dry or sensitive skin.”

“Glossier definitely jumped on the K-Beauty train when they decided to make this and it was an absolute flop in my opinion. The texture and finish of it is wonderful as it’s clear, leaves no cast, and leaves a dewy finish. But for a while they charged $34 for 1oz of product. That’s not a good ratio when there’s a certain amount of SPF you need to use in order for it to be effective, you’d need to use a couple of pumps PER use when applying this. The bottle wouldn’t last long with daily use at all,” she says.

“They’ve recently lowered the price to $25 but I don’t think it’s even worth $25, there’s other SPF moisturizers from higher end brands and K-Beauty brands from the same price or lower that are better formulated and will probably give you more product.

The Neutrogena Hydro Boost seemed to be the most common sensical dupe since it’s way cheaper, you get more product, and I’ve heard it gives a very similar, dewy finish.”

“Super Bounce is nothing but hyaluronic acid. I’ve tried this as well specifically during times when my skin was dehydrated from overcleansing or over exfoliating and again, it did absolutely nothing. For $28, of course I would expect a likkle magic. I deserved! With The Ordinary’s products, I’ve yet to hear anything bad. Like literally.”

“I literally said “LMFAOOOO” out loud when I realized how much you get for Super Glow. Like all the letters. L M F A O. For $28 you get 0.5 oz of product,” says Erin. “I’ve tried Super Glow and it didn’t do a thing for my skin and felt like water, not the usual stickiness I get from a good vitamin c serum. What’s even more suspect is that Glossier doesn’t give out percentages of actives because it’s “top secret” which is code for “we don’t put enough actives in our products to actually be effective but we can’t let the girls know!” but you didn’t hear it from me. So there’s no telling how much Vitamin C is actually in here. This product also has plenty of bad reviews on Glossier’s website to backup my claim, but again, you didn’t hear it from me.

For $27, yes $1 less, you get 1 oz of product and the percentage is 20.5% of vitamin c *chef’s kiss*. Like there’s no competition here at all. I’m on my second bottle of the Lightning Liquid and I looove it. My only pet peeve is that it absolutely needs to be kept in the fridge if you want to preserve it for as long as possible. But other than that? This is one of the most effective and affordable vitamin c serums you can buy.”

“Super Pure is a niacinamide serum with zinc PCA that claims to clear the skin of breakouts and sooth redness. I never bothered to try this one because my skin is relatively clear so I don’t need it, but also after trying Super Bounce and Super Glow I didnt’t feel like wasting my money and being disappointed for a third time, so that’s that on that. Again, I’ve heard nothing but good things about this serum from The Ordinary as well and for $6 (USD) you don’t have much to lose!”