e.l.f. and the Art of the Dupe: Authenticity or Illusion?
- Kimaya Agrawal
- Jul 25
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 26
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal.” — T.S. Eliot
e.l.f. may not be stealing in the literal sense, but it has built an empire by taking what’s working in the beauty industry and reproducing it faster, cheaper, and more publicly than anyone else. There’s no effort to disguise the resemblance. The brand identifies viral prestige products, mirrors them closely in packaging and performance, and prices them within reach of mass-market consumers. What used to be seen as copying is now understood as strategy.
Products like Halo Glow (a near-dupe of Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter) and Power Grip primer (suspiciously close to Milk Makeup’s Hydro Grip) are textbook examples. e.l.f. doesn’t wait for trends to fade before launching its versions; it rides the momentum while the original is still in the spotlight. With Lash ’N Roll, the company recreated Benefit’s Roller Lash so precisely that Benefit filed a lawsuit. The case was dismissed. Consumers weren’t misled; they knew exactly what they were buying.
This approach works because e.l.f. has designed its operations for speed. It keeps development in-house, moves from concept to shelf in months, and leans heavily on TikTok and YouTube for real-time trend tracking. Most legacy beauty brands still rely on long R&D cycles, celebrity endorsements, and drawn-out marketing narratives. e.l.f. doesn’t need any of that. Its users do the selling through GRWMs, side-by-side comparisons, and influencer tutorials.
The appeal is functional. Consumers know they’re buying a dupe, and they feel smart doing it. For Gen Z in particular, the prestige of a product doesn’t come from brand heritage; it comes from looking good, going viral, and fitting into a $20 budget. e.l.f. gives them exactly what they want, with none of the legacy markup.
What sets e.l.f. apart isn’t just its ability to copy, it’s how shamelessly and effectively it does so. The brand doesn’t replicate the product; it replicates the moment. And in an attention economy, speed is more valuable than originality.
The lesson here isn’t that copying wins. The lesson is that the beauty consumer has changed. What people want isn’t the first version of something; they want the version that shows up when they’re ready to buy. e.l.f. understands that perfectly. And that’s what makes it one of the most important brands in beauty right now.
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