Dupe economy: Are beauty ‘dupes’ from Aldi, Shein or Temu really a great deal?

News Snapshot:

An Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow palette costs €57 but Rocio Soria tells me – and her 1.9 million followers on TikTok – that we can purchase an almost identical ‘dupe’ version for just €10 from Joha beauty. According to Soria, there is no discernible difference between the two. If you search the hashtag #bougieonabudget on TikTok, more than 60,000 similar videos will show up, recommending low-cost fashion and beauty duplicates or ‘dupes’ that can be substituted for luxury branded products. The concept of seeking out lower-cost alternatives is nothing new. In their noughties heyday, women’s fashion magazines regularly featured segments...