18 Budget-Friendly Swaps That Rival Expensive Skincare
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Luxury skincare products are great—and we love hearing about what our favorite celebrities recommend and use in their routines—but the price tags often associated with luxury items aren’t as budget-friendly as a drugstore swap (to say the least). These products can range from $90 to even $300 for a single bottle. We won’t deny that luxury skincare has its perks: premium ingredients, aesthetic packaging, and proven results. But in this economy, affordable skincare is just as noteworthy, especially products that work.
Luxury Skincare Products & Their Affordable Swaps
Image: Dermstore
Luxury Product: 111Skin Rose Gold Radiance Booster
The Rose Gold Radiance Booster retails for around $135 and leaves skin looking soft and shimmery. It has high quality, “illuminating ingredients like 24-karat gold and Damask rose extract” to make skin, well, radiant. The serum also has niacinamide and hyaluronic acid to brighten and moisturize your skin.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Credo Beauty
Rosehip BioRegenerate Universal Face Oil
Pai
The BioRegenerate Universal Face Oil is an alternative a third of the price that is made with rosehip oil and omegas 3, 6, 7, and 9. The oil smells like a spring garden and helps to boost complexion, brighten skin, deeply condition, and improve firmness and elasticity.
Image: Sephora
Squalane + Vitamin C Rose Brightening Face Oil
Biossance
Biossance’s Squalene + Vitamin C Rose Oil uses hyaluronic acid to deeply hydrate your skin and vitamin C to help brighten it. If you are not ready to commit to the full size version, you can shop the “mini” version for less than $50, too.
Image: Dermstore
Luxury Product: Is Clinical Active Serum
The Is Clinical Active Serum is the brand’s best-selling facial serum dedicated to brightening skin, reducing signs of aging, and leaving your face smooth. It has ingredients like glycolic acid, lactic acid, and salicylic acid to exfoliate and leave skin feeling clean. It sells for around $140.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Amazon
Ceramide Barrier Serum
Cocokind
The Cocokind Ceramide Serum is a lot less expensive and can be found at Ulta or on the Cocokind site. It is made with five ceramides and lipids that are similar to the skin’s natural barrier, making it a restorative serum that will promote hydrated and healthy skin. It also has lactic acid to help slough away dead skin cells to allow the nourishing formula to sink into the skin.
Image: Amazon
AHA Renewal Serum
QRx Labs
This affordable skincare alternative from QRx Labs serum is a 15% Alpha Hydroxy Acid formula with hyaluronic acid. It is a concentrated formula that includes glycolic, lactic, citric, malic and tartaric acids—all of which combine to make your skin look more youthful, radiant, and smooth.
Image: Violet Grey
Luxury Product: Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum
Vintner’s Daughter products are well-loved by celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tracee Ellis Ross. The brand’s Botanical Serum–an almost $200 bottle–is a face oil made with 22 of the world’s most nutrient-dense oils. It has 100% natural ingredients and includes calendula, rose, carrot seed, turmeric, and omegas 3, 6, 7, and 9 (to name a few). Together, the oils will leave skin looking luxurious, smooth, and nourished.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Credo Beauty
Bio Booster Oil Drops
W3ll People
The Bio Booster Oil Drops from W3ll People is an alternative botanical serum that has antioxidants and plant-derived ingredients to “brighten and plump” skin. The seed oil mixture also has calendula and raspberry seed oil. The drugstore brand—yet sustainable—serum is priced under $20.
Image: Versed
Antioxidant Oil-Serum
Versed
Sunday Morning is both a face oil and a serum formula boosted with ingredients like sea buckthorn, chamomile flower extract, vitamin E, turmeric root extract, and sodium hyaluronate. The affordable, antioxidant oil/serum combo strengthens the skin barrier and promotes skin-smoothing results.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: Dior Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum
Dior’s Capture Totale Super Potent Eye Serum is a product that combats puffiness, fine lines, and dark circles with a pricetag of around $80. It’s beloved by skin care professionals, like Jennifer Anniston’s esthetician. It’s suitable for all skin types and uses acetylated hyaluronic acid and rye extract for hydrating and firming benefits respectively.
Affordable Swap:
Image: Amazon
Hyaluronic Eye Cream
Mario Badescu
An affordable skincare swap for the Dior eye cream is the Mario Badescu eye cream. Retailing for just around $20, it’s an aloe vera and hyaluronic acid cream that will soothe and hydrate under eyes and works for all skin types. You can find the popular eye cream at Amazon, Urban Outfitters, and Ulta.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: Tata Harper Regenerating Exfoliating Cleanser
Tata Harper’s Regenerating Exfoliating Cleanser is a fan-favorite skincare item. The “clean” and vegan product uses salicylic acid, pomegranate enzymes, rice extract, and other natural ingredients to gently exfoliate skin for a clean and even result. The cleanser has many organic and clinical-grade ingredients and retails for close to $90.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Brandefy
Superfood Cleanser
Brandefy
Brandefy’s simple Superfood Cleanser is an under $25 alternative. The cleanser has kale, spinach, and green tea to moisturize, strengthen the skin barrier, and nourish skin. The formula is safe for sensitive skin and can be purchased from Brandefy’s website or on Amazon.
Image: Glossier
Cleanser Concentrate
Glossier
The Glossier Cleanser Concentrate uses grape ferment, grape extract, lactic acid, and malic acid) and niacinamide to clean skin and reduce the appearance of pores. The cleanser also has chamomile flower water and calendula extract to soften and moisturize skin. You can buy this low-cost concentrate directly at Glossier.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: Supergoop Glowscreen SPF 40
Supergoop has won over many skincare lovers with its line of SPF products, and the Glowscreen formula is a top seller. The SPF face lotion has a slight tint that leaves skin looking hydrated and dewy, but doesn’t interfere with makeup. Glowscreen has hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to hydrate and brighten skin. You can purchase this bestseller for around $40 when it’s not sold out or on sale. (You can also use your FSA or HSA!)
Affordable Swap:
Image: e.l.f. Skin
Suntouchable! Whoa Glow SPF 30
Elf
According to TikTok, Elf’s Suntouchable! Whoa Glow SPF 30 is a cheaper replica of Glowscreen. I’ve seen videos where people apply each product on half of their face and you can hardly tell the left from right. Elf’s formula is less than half the price and is made with hyaluronic acid, squalane, aloe, and SPF 30 for a similar hydrating but not greasy glow. There are many retailers with this affordable skincare product SPF such as Walmart, Walgreens, & Ulta.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizer
Crème de la Mer Moisturizer is an expensive moisturizer costing over $200, but is rich and deeply moisturizing. As you can imagine for the price point, the results are proven: smooth and firm skin, reduced redness, and hella hydration. The cream is used by A-listers like Nicole Kidman, Kendall Jenner, and Jennifer Lopez. The “miracle broth” is what makes this cream so special: a mixture of sea kelp, citrus extract, natural oils, and vitamins.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Dermstore
Golden Hour Recovery Cream
Ursa Major
A sustainable and clean alternative is the Ursa Major Golden Hour Recovery Cream. It’s a deeply hydrating cream made from sea buckthorn, calendula, sunflower seed oil, rose, and aloe. The cream can be used by all skin types and sells for nearly a quarter of the price of Crème de la Mer.
Image: Sephora
Ultra Repair® Cream Intense Hydration
First Aid Beauty
The Ultra Repair® Cream from First Aid Beauty is an affordable, drugstore swap. It’s a fragrance-free option that can hydrate even dry skin for a smooth overall look. The hydrating cream has hard-working colloidal oatmeal and shea butter, and squalane in its ingredient list. You can buy the cream in bulk sizes for under $50.
Image: Jenny Kayne
Luxury Product: Oak Essentials Daily Vitamin C Serum
Oak Essentials is the skincare line created by luxury clothing and home goods designer, Jenni Kayne. The brand’s skincare products are made with natural, organic, non-GMO ingredients as much as possible and have a minimal aesthetic. The Vitamin C Serum is a daytime product that uses 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid to address hyperpigmentation and brighten skin, as well as squalene to hydrate and smooth skin.
Affordable Swap:
Image: Ulta Beauty
Vitamin C Serum
Cocokind
Cocokind is a top affordable skincare brand with transparent ingredient lists, and the Vitamin C Serum is no different with a price tag under $20. It combines vitamin C, sea grape caviar, and hyaluronic acid to brighten skin while also moisturizing. The sea grape caviar extract “improves water retention by using moisture absorbed from the air” for youthful, glowy skin.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum
This top-of-the-line serum combines low-weight and high-weight hyaluronic molecules into one serum. The result is a deeply hydrating serum that also firms skin and makes it look more youthful by addressing wrinkles caused by dehydration. The formula is just over $300 per bottle.
Affordable Swap:
Image: Sephora
Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum
The INKEY List
Hyaluronic Acid is a superhero ingredient, and the good news is that there are plenty of formulas and options when it comes to finding the right one for your budget. The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum is a tenth of the price and has an award-winning formula that is available at Sephora. The hyaluronic serum plumps and hydrates for a fraction of the cost.
Image: Dermstore
Luxury Product: U Beauty The Plasma Lip Compound
U Beauty’s Plasma Lip Compound is a high-end lip treatment that rings up around $70. The formula claims to address a long list: “visibly increased volume, hydration, and softness… Fine lines and wrinkles look diminished…improved texture, shape, and color.” The Lip Compound increases collagen and elastin for a cushioned lip look.
Affordable Swap:
Image: Credo Beauty
Plump & Juicy Lip Booster Buttery Treatment
Kosas
An alternative beauty swap is the Plump & Juicy Lip Booster Buttery Treatment from Kosas. This treatment softens and hydrates lips using hyaluronic acid, peptides, and botanical ingredients like castor oil, jojoba oil, and orange peel oil. Kosas’ lip booster is a third of the price with plenty of boosting effects.
Image: Dermstore
Luxury Product: Augustinus Bader The Cream
Celebrities like Victoria Beckham and Margot Robbie use The Cream from Agustinus Bader, a luxury product with a high price tag. The moisturizer is sustainably formulated, tested, and packaged. It’s a hydration cream that reduces redness, shrinks the appearance of fine lines, addresses hyperpigmentation, and encourages collagen and cell renewal. The formula is fragrance-free and is best used on combination or oily skin types.
Affordable Swaps:
Image: Sephora
Omega+ Complex Moisturizer
Paula’s Choice
The Omega+ Complex Moisturizer is from one of the best affordable skin care brands. The moisturizer hydrates and soothes dry skin using skin-loving ceramides, plant oils, and antioxidants like flax seeds and guava. The Omega+ Complex Moisturizer is under $40.
Image: Beauty Pie
Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream
Beauty Pie
The Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream from Beauty Pie is made in Switzerland and is fit for any skin type. The ingredients include glycerin, oat extract, and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin and promote softness. The cream leaves skin looking even and radiant. Beauty Pie’s Super Healthy Skin™ Anti-Aging Cream is a third of the price of the Augustinus Bader luxury option and is only available directly from the brand.
Image: Sephora
Luxury Product: Dior Lip Glow Oil
The Dior Lip Glow Oil has a large following and for a good reason. The lip oil is light but pigmented, nourishing rather than sticky, and available in eight warm pink and red shades. The oil has a bright, shiny finish and is hydrating, which can be tough to find in many lip products. However, the oil sells for close to $50 a pop!
Affordable Swap:
Image: Sephora
Lip Jelly
Tower 28
Tower 28’s Lip Jelly is the perfect affordable beauty swap for Dior’s Lip Oil at just a third of the price. Tower 28’s formula is lightweight, hydrating, and is available in 11 colors. I swear by this lip gloss and wear it year-round! It looks great on its own as well as over a swipe of lipstick. And there is a clear lip jelly which is great for those who like a minimal makeup look.
Affordable skincare and beauty products have become increasingly popular in recent years as people are seeking high-quality and budget-friendly options for their personal care routine. With the rise of influencers and direct-to-consumer brands, buyers have access to a wider range of affordable beauty products that cater to their specific needs and preferences. Plus, many affordable brands have proven to be just as effective (if not more so) than their luxury counterparts, giving everyone the chance to improve their skincare routine without breaking the bank.
