Why, and how,
Beauty Dupe was built
What touches your skin is the ingredients, not the brand name. The same hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and ceramides can sell for more than a tenfold price gap once a brand name and the packaging are wrapped around them. Beauty Dupe uses ingredient data to show that gap clearly. Every recommendation is laid out by full ingredients, shared key actives, price, and watch-out ingredients. We do not recommend anything we would not recommend to our own family and friends.
How does the analysis work?
Enter a product name or a full ingredient list and the result comes back through the three steps below. A human-defined verification check runs at every step. The full rules for what we count and what we leave out are published on the methodology page.
Ingredient data first
We collect full ingredient lists ourselves from official retail pages and public records and keep them as a dataset. If the product you enter is in that dataset, the analysis runs on those ingredients directly. Only products we do not have yet are estimated by AI from public information, and those results are labeled "AI estimate". A photo of an ingredient label is read by OCR.
Cross-check against the MFDS database
Every ingredient name, whether from our dataset or an AI estimate, is matched against the MFDS cosmetic raw-ingredient database to filter out spelling errors and hallucinations. Any ingredient missing from the database is flagged separately.
Value-driven dupe matching
When both products have a verified full ingredient list, we compare their shared key ingredients directly as a verified dupe. When a product has none yet, AI estimates it and we mark it separately. Prices are checked against the Naver Shopping and Coupang market.
What is the difference between a "verified dupe" and an "AI estimate"?
Two results can look the same while resting on different evidence. We show that difference right on the result screen.
Verified dupe · by full ingredients
When we have the full ingredient list for both the original and the alternative, we compare their shared key ingredients directly. Each product is labeled "Full ingredients" on the result.
AI estimate · for reference
When a product has no full ingredient list yet, AI estimates its ingredients from the product name. It is labeled "AI-estimated" and may differ from a full-ingredient verified comparison.
Submit ingredients for a verified comparison
On the result you can type or photograph a product's full ingredient list and we re-analyze it for a more exact comparison. Submitted lists are reviewed before they enter our data.
Ingredient Dictionary
Look up each cosmetic ingredient's efficacy and official MFDS information in one place, along with the products that contain it and value picks that share it.
What else can you do here?
These tools sit alongside the dupe finder and run on the same full-ingredient data.
Side-by-side compare and routine builder
Compare the full ingredient lists of two products and build a morning and evening routine step by step.
Single-product analysis
Check one product's key ingredients, expected benefits, and free-from status without hunting for a dupe.
Skin type test and saved lists
Take the 16-question self test to find your skin type, then save the dupes you like and share them as a link.
Beauty Dupe Premium
Analysis and dupe recommendations stay free. Premium adds a personal layer on top: a skin-fit score and a saved list of ingredients you want to avoid, including a one-tap pregnancy quick-fill.
What data do we use?
We are open about the source data behind every result. Each source is checked and refreshed on a regular schedule.
Ingredient data · MFDS cosmetic raw-ingredient database
We pull the public cosmetic raw-ingredient dataset published by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (nedrug.mfds.go.kr) and use it to verify ingredient spelling and usage-limit information.
Price data · Naver Shopping + Coupang Partners
Dupe prices are pulled live from the Naver Shopping search API and the Coupang Partners API. Prices shift over time and may differ from the real checkout price, so we show the lookup time alongside each result.
Academic citations · peer-reviewed papers (PubMed and others)
The mechanisms and clinical-report figures in our magazine articles are cited directly from peer-reviewed papers indexed on PubMed, with the source named at each point of citation. We do not cite unverified marketing material.
How are the efficacy scores calculated?
Each result carries five scores from 0 to 100 (moisturizing, brightening, elasticity, soothing and safety). They are estimated from the ingredient makeup as a reference, and real results vary by concentration and formulation.
Moisturizing
We look at water-binding and water-holding ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, panthenol and sodium PCA, and where they sit in the formula order.
Brightening
This is based on the ranking of ingredients linked to melanin synthesis such as niacinamide, arbutin, vitamin C derivatives and azelaic acid.
Elasticity
We analyze ingredients that support collagen synthesis or skin firmness, including retinol, the peptide family, collagen and EGF derivatives.
Soothing
This reflects whether soothing ingredients are present and how they rank, such as centella and madecassoside, allantoin, azulene, bisabolol and green tea extract.
Safety
This reflects whether ingredients that many people prefer to avoid — such as fragrance, alcohol, parabens and sulfate-based surfactants — are present. It is not a judgment of an ingredient's safety, just a reference for those who prefer a free-from formula.
The limits of our analysis, and our responsibility
Our analysis is for reference only, and we want to be clear about the limits below.
The efficacy scores are reference figures computed from the ingredient makeup, so they cannot fully account for a maker's own formulation technique or differences in the origin and purity of a raw material. Results estimated by AI for products we do not have full data on are reference-only in particular. Always check the ingredient panel on the package itself before you buy.
Everything on this site is written for general cosmetic-ingredient education and does not replace a medical diagnosis, prescription or treatment. If you have skin trouble or a sensitive reaction, or you are weighing up products during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, please consult a dermatologist or pharmacist.
The efficacy notes in our magazine articles and on the results screen follow cosmetic advertising-language standards, using phrases such as "clinical report", "a main active ingredient" and "widely used". We avoid absolute claims such as "proven effect" or "clinically validated". We do not assess the safety of a particular brand or ingredient ourselves, and we do not promise drug-level effects.
Our editorial standards for ingredient articles
Every Beauty Dupe ingredient-analysis article is written to the four standards below.
Objectivity first
We write from INCI ingredient names, clinical reports and MFDS data rather than personal taste or brand marketing language.
Transparent source data
Every result is grounded in credible peer-reviewed papers and the MFDS ingredient-labeling rules.
No commercial bias
We never bend a product's analysis for paid ads or affiliate marketing. A recommendation is an option, never a push.
Kept up to date
We monitor products on a regular schedule so we can re-run the analysis as soon as a reformulation or ingredient change is confirmed.
Ingredient-analysis articles
Each article below is an in-depth report built on the product's full ingredient data and cross-checked against the MFDS raw-ingredient data.
Report an error or get in touch
If you find a data error, have a product you would like analyzed, or want to suggest an improvement, reach the atelier anytime.