13-03-2025
The best budget beauty swaps for 6 holy grail products, starting at $5
As a beauty editor, my job is to find the best, most effective makeup, skin- and hair care on the market and write about what I uncover. To that end, I test at least 20 new-to-me items a week, often from high-end luxury brands, products that cost more than my first car. Frankly, most of what I test is junk, which is always a relief— when I come across a $200 serum that actually does what it says it will, my heart sinks. I know I can't in good conscience recommend anyone lay down cash for something so frivolous (get thee extra funds to a Roth IRA, friends!), and I'm equally incapable of justifying an ongoing expenditure like this for myself. It's good to know what works and what doesn't for my job, but otherwise it's just rich people nonsense, a $600 cream as useful to me as a single Bugatti tire — there's just no place for it in my life.
This is why, when I find an expensive, effective product, I immediately start searching for its budget counterpart. I spend hours scrolling through beauty forums and Reddit threads, and I truly could not be more thrilled than when I land on a quality alternative at a much better price.
From the $6 lipstick that's just as good as Taylor Swift's $39 favorite to the $24 vitamin C serum that's good enough to replace the industry's $182 anti-aging standard bearer, the following are my most recent luxury-beauty-alternative finds. All are worth your time and none will strain your wallet.
If there was a school for beauty writers, the first lesson they'd teach would be about Skinceuticals C E Ferulic serum, a magical, vitamin C-packed elixir that helps even skin tone, smooth rough textures, firm sagginess and soften the appearance of wrinkles, leaving behind an overall glow. It's an amazing product, one of the few that does what it says it will (and has been clinically tested and proven). However, at $182, it's obscenely spendy and not the kind of thing you want to recommend to anyone who doesn't own a yacht. I've been hunting down a comparable swap since I started this job in 2023 and, after scrolling product ingredient lists and social media for months, I believe I've finally found it: Dr. Brenner's C Serum.
The ingredient lists of the two serums are close to the same. They both contain a L-ascorbic acid (a stable form of vitamin C), vitamin E and ferulic acid. They're similarly packaged in dark glass to protect the product from breaking down and spoiling. Both serums share the potent, tell-tale vitamin C serum scent (some describe it as hot dog water).
Skinceuticals has a patent on the exact ratio of ingredients in its formula, which means what's inside each bottle is technically the same but the proportions are slightly different. Specifically, Dr. Brenner's serum has 20% L-ascorbic acid to Skinceuticals' 15%. This increase can make C Serum version slightly more intense, particularly for sensitive skin. Additionally, Dr. Brenner's is thinner than Skinceuticals and contains more hyaluronic acid.
These products are ultra close in quality and miles away in price. The swap wins.
Even if you've never thought of yourself as a "lipstick person," the popular, '90s-chic (and Drew Barrymore fave) Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey is the kind of makeup that changes minds. The universally flattering formula is made from a blend of blue, red and yellow pigments, so it works for any skin tone. It's a near-perfect product, except for one thing: the $25 price.
Sheer Slick Lipstick in Black Cherry by E.l.f. retains many of Clinique Black Honey's finest attributes — they share a similar texture, a near-identical hue and long-wear staying power.
Elf's iteration is just $5 (compared to Clinique's $24). It's also infused with vitamin E for an ultra-moisturizing effect and, unlike Clinique Black Honey (and most products from its parent company, Estée Lauder), the E.l.f. version is cruelty-free.
It's rare to see a product swap surpass the original, but I found E.l.f.'s formula superior, particularly for drier, mature lips.
Sunday Riley's Good Genes is a prized anti-aging product known for gently exfoliating skin, evening rough texture and giving one's complexion a noticeable youthful boost (I myself have long considered it a desert island product for the instant glow it gives my skin). However, given Good Genes's steep price point, skin-care-obsessive forums have long been on the hunt for a quality alternative. In recent years, debates have raged over the merits of Good Genes vs. The Ordinary's Lactic Acid serum. The winner is not always clear.
Both are powerful chemical exfoliants that help with cell turnover, smoothing skin texture and minimizing the appearance of wide-looking pores. They share the same hero ingredient — lactic acid — and both are made by trusted brands known for super-effective products that have legions of fans.
The most obvious difference here is the price — Good Genes rings in at $85, while The Ordinary's version is just $8. And, while they deliver similar results, Good Genes is made with both anti-inflammatory licorice and a "botanical blend" that softens the impact of lactic acid and makes this product more gentle. The Ordinary's serum, on the other hand, is more potent and chemically pared down (it does, however, contain hyaluronic acid, which hydrates skin and tempers the lactic acid's exfoliating sting). Good Genes comes in a pillowy-soft lotion and The Ordinary's option is more watery.
With these products delivering similar results and coming with such a stark price difference, The Ordinary Lactic Acid is an impressive swap. However, if you want a closer 1:1 Good Genes ingredient-list alternative and a more gentle formulation, we suggest Peach & Lily's Power Cocktail Lactic Acid Repair Serum, which will set you back $51.
The Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask is one of those products that's a staple in "best of" beauty columns, and it's the kind of in-the-know potion influencers and famous people proudly trot out when they're asked to share items they love. For me, however, this is an item that's always felt overhyped — and I've been searching for an alternative for years. This CosRx lip treatment is it.
The two share 11 ingredients including glycerin and skin-conditioning butters. They also share a similar bouncy, glossy, salve-like consistency.
Unlike the Laneige, CosRx's Lip Sleep contains zero synthetic waxes or alcohol (an ingredient I suspect is why I found the Laneige Sleeping Mask weirdly drying when I reviewed it last year). The CosRx treatment additionally contains just 28 ingredients (as compared to Laneige's 46) including clinically proven humectants, emollients and skin conditioners like honey, royal jelly extract, moringa seed oil and propolis extract — all of which the Laneige product does not have.
Though there's not a major price difference here, for my money Lip Sleep is the higher-caliber product.
Unseen Sunscreen is the gold standard when it comes to easy, lightweight, everyday SPF protection you can wear under makeup, but clever internet sleuths have been recommending E.l.f's low-cost version as a reliable alternative for years.
Both products have a silky, weightless-seeming texture. Both are chemical sunscreens with nearly identical ingredient lists. Once applied, both are mostly undetectable on your face, with zero white cast — they're so well-absorbed and sheer, they can even work as a skin primer.
Supergoop is nearly 3 times more expensive ($38 to E.l.f's $13). It has a slightly higher SPF (40 to E.l.f's 35). But the biggest difference is that E.l.f.'s iteration leaves skin with a slight dewy sheen and the Supergoop version does not.
This is among the best product swaps we've tried and completely worth making the switch.
Pat McGrath's award-winning MatteTrance lipstick is famously a Taylor Swift fave (the singer reportedly wears the Elson hue (a blue-red). However, not only is this beloved product frequently sold out, it's also $39. As a lifelong wearer of red lipstick — and a person who tests beauty products for a living — I recently noticed that Revlon's Super Lustrous Love That Red looks astonishingly similar to McGrath's Elson. In fact, once applied, the two shades are nearly indistinguishable.
Both lipsticks are bright, rich, highly pigmented blue-reds that glide on easily.
MatteTrance is, as per its name, a matte lipstick with a drier finish. It also feels drier on your lips. Super Lustrous is more moisturizing and creamy (though not glossy). It also feels better on, but the McGrath product is longer lasting.
McGrath's lipstick is a higher-quality product, for sure, but it's also more than 6 times the price of Revlon's. If you're looking for a truly affordable red lipstick that mimics Taylor's beloved Elson, this is a worthy buy.
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