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If it seems like your favorite beauty products are more expensive, it’s because they are. While inflation has eased since last year, prices are still higher than they were before the pandemic. The effects of which are evident pretty much anywhere you look, from the grocery store to the gas station.
Experts in This Article
Joshua Zeichner director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology and associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital
According to NielsenIQ data as reported by Global Cosmetic Industry Magazine, the beauty industry as a whole is facing a 10 percent increase in average unit price every year—with cosmetics and skin- and hair-care products bearing the brunt of it. As a result, “prestige” beauty products are a whole lot pricier. Thankfully, we have Beauty Pie, the beauty buyers club that gives members access to high-quality, luxury beauty products without the regret-inducing price tag.
More about Beauty Pie
Launched in 2016 by serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore—the woman who gave us Bliss Spa (Bliss) in the ’90s, and the iconic footwear brand FitFlop—Beauty Pie set out to make the best in beauty more accessible.
“I love beauty. I love being able to help women look better and feel more confident. It’s fun. It gives me an enormous amount of energy. It’s my ‘thing,’” Kilgore says in an interview on Beauty Pie. “But negotiating margins with retailers, pretending that luxury products are worth up to 10x more than they actually cost to manufacture, that has always made me really uncomfortable.”
Tapping into her decades worth of beauty experience, Kilgore went directly to the labs and suppliers (the same ones that make most of your favorite prestige products, BTW) to develop Beauty Pie’s top of the line skin-care, hair-care, and makeup products, and make them available for a fraction of the price. Ostensibly cutting out the industry and retailer markups and saving members up to a whopping 70 percent (hold for applause) on luxury beauty, so everyone can experience high-end products without the high cost. So, instead of shelling out upwards of $100 for that fancy French night cream at the department store (absorbing the cost of the luxe packaging, marketing, and retailer markups in doing so), you can get the same cream for half the price on Beauty Pie—and in chic packaging, no less.
How it works
You can sign up as a Beauty Pie Monthly Member starting at $29 a month, or as a Beauty Pie Plus Member for $5 a month ($59 billed annually). You can also shop on Beauty Pie without being a member, but you’d be missing out on the discount, which is the best part.
Besides, the membership pays for itself—most members earn back the cost of their membership on their first Beauty Pie experience. There are pages upon pages of drool-worthy beauty and wellness products to peruse on its site, many of which are dupes for pricier, prestige brands. After commerce writer Danielle Calma and I tested some of Beauty Pie’s most beloved offerings over the past few months, I can confidently say it’s a club worth joining. Read on for the luxury dupes that have me totally convinced.
The best luxury dupes to shop on Beauty Pie
Beauty Pie Superdrops Brightening Niacinamide — $19.00
Membership price: $19
Non-member price: $38
This niacinamide serum has an impressive 4.6-star overall rating on the Beauty Pie site, and I understand why. It touts a 10 percent concentration of niacinamide, a must for strengthening your skin barrier and reducing the look of dark spots, according to derms. “It also helps calm inflammation and supports healthy collagen production,” Joshua Zeichner, MD, board-certified dermatologist in New York City previously told W+G. The water-light serum also contains Beauty Pie’s EverMat and Oxygeskin complexes, which help reduce the look of pores and breathe new life into skin for a clear, smooth, and plumped up complexion.
Comparative to: Dr. Barbara Sturm Better B Niacinamide Serum ($160)
Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream — $25.00
Membership price: $25
Non-member price: $45
You don’t have to dig deep into your savings account for a quality face moisturizer. Case in point: the Beauty Pie Super Healthy™ Skin Anti-Aging Cream. It’s powered by hyaluronic acid and a lineup of plant bioactives that aid in collagen production and protect against free-radical damage caused by pollution and harsh UV rays—all for $25. The nearly weightless moisturizer leaves skin supple, with a dewy-but-not oily sheen. It also yields results over time: In an independent clinical trial, 100 percent of participants reported softer, smoother, and more hydrated skin in four weeks.
Beauty Pie Youthbomb 360° Radiance Concentrate — $49.00
Membership price: $49
Non-member price: $82
The Youthbomb 360° Radiance Concentrate makes a lot of promises—claiming to smooth, firm, tighten, and brighten skin, all while hydrating and leaving a radiant glow behind. Better yet, it actually delivers on those claims. Developed in partnership with consultant dermatologist Andrew Markey, MB ChB, MD, FRCP, Youthbomb is chock-full of potent ingredients to unlock your glowiest, bounciest skin yet, like peptides, soothing hydrators, and firming proteins. The golden, jelly-like serum absorbs into my skin with ease, and leaves it looking visibly more hydrated, luminous, and plump. And it’s under $50 bucks, which is unheard of for a serum this good.
Comparative to: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum ($125)
Beauty Pie Superluminous Under-eye Genius — $14.00
Membership price: $14
Non-member price: $28
If you loved the Smashbox X Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector, the Superluminous Under-eye Genius will be your new holy grail. It contains antioxidant-rich vitamin E, along with sunflower and castor seed oils to moisturize the delicate under-eye area, plus light-catching pigments to diminish the look of dark circles and give tired eyes a pick-me-up. A small dab is all you need to instantly look more awake, then follow up with a concealer that’s a match for your skin tone, or wear it alone for light coverage and luminosity.
Comparative to: Smashbox X Becca Under Eye Brightening Corrector ($33)
Beauty Pie Happy Face Extreme Relief Cica Moisture Cream — $18.00
Membership price: $18
Non-member price: $30
Beauty Pie says this moisturizer is like a “cashmere blanket for your face,” and I (along with hundreds of Beauty Pie members) agree. Starring calming cica (aka, centella asiatica or “tiger grass”), hydrating sodium hyaluronate (a derivative of hyaluronic acid), and skin-strengthening ceramides, this Japanese moisturizer deeply nourishes and soothes dry, sensitive, and rosacea-prone skin. It has a balmy-meets-gel-cream consistency that somehow manages to be intensely moisturizing without overwhelming my combination skin. And whenever I overdo it on skin-care and disrupt my skin barrier in the process (which happens more often than I care to admit), the Happy Face Cream helps my skin feel normal (dare I say, happy?) again.
Comparative to: Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Skin Barrier Moisturizing Cream ($50)
Beauty Pie Triple Beauty Luminizing Wand — $15
Membership price: $15
Non-member price: $25
This Beauty Pie highlighter is an obvious dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Highlighter Wand that’s amassed a cult-following—and it’s honestly even better. It has the same cushion applicator that makes dabbing it on the high points of your face fun, but the superior formula inside gives you a more natural, pearlized glow, without any glitter. I found it to be easier to blend than the CT highlighter, and its weightless formula dries down quickly (without emphasizing dry patches) to create a subtle, soft-focus effect. For only $15, it’s 100 percent worth the membership, if you ask me. PS. Beauty Pie also makes a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury Contour Wand ($16).
Comparative to: Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Highlighter Wand ($42)
Beauty Pie Awesome Bronze Gradual Self-Tanning Drops $19
Membership price: $19
Non-member price: $32
Beauty Pie’s Awesome Bronze Gradual Self-Tanning Drops might not rival the experience of an idyllic day at the beach, but it can effect the illusion of a just-back-from-vacation glow—which is enough to put us in a sunnier state of mind. It provides an instant tan by way of dihydroxyacetone (DHA), the primary ingredient found in most self-tanners, and combines it with Oligogeline, which is meant to impart along-lasting and streak-free color. Indeed, just a few drops delivers a believable sun-kissed color, along with a dose of moisturizing hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich spirulina. To top it all off, a bottle of the stuff is under $20—a whole lot less than a plane ticket to the Caribbean.
Comparative to: Tan-Luxe The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops ($55)
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