Hi Friends!
Today, I wanted to talk about exact makeup dupes. Lately, I have been seeing a lot of advertisements for Shop Hush and Bad Habit and a lot of YouTubers make videos on these dupe palettes so I wanted to address the exact dupes situation.
I am trying to look at this situation as fairly as possible but ultimately I feel like exact dupes should be illegal.
If this was any other industry, having an exact dupe of someone else’s work would be plagiarism / copyright infringement / etc. so I don’t really understand why it is different for the makeup industry. You can’t take a book, re-write it word for word, change the title and sell it to people for a lesser price. Why can’t you do that? Because its wrong and there are laws that protect writer’s work. Its called plagiarism.
I understand taking creative inspiration from other brands, we see it all the time. For example, all of the warm palettes that came out last year. They probably all took inspiration from each other and tried to improve based on what people were reacting to. For example, the Tarte Toasted palette and the Naked Heat palette. They are so different but so similar that you probably don’t need both. If a drugstore brand wanted to take inspiration from a high end brand so they could offer it to their customers for a less expensive price then I get that.
I heard someone else say that exact dupes are a necessary evil so people can keep up with the trends. I feel like there is enough out there to keep up with the trends. Plus I feel like drugstore brands can take inspiration, still have a similar offering for their customers without completely ripping off another brand.
Ultimately, if these palettes are so good, why can’t they put together something new? I wouldn’t be proud of something that I ripped off another brand.
What do you think of exact dupes? Do you think they should be illegal? I would love to know your thoughts!
Tayler's Edit 
I’m fine with exact dupes. The overpriced companies didn’t invent the colors so I don’t see where they can prevent their use. Plus it is ridiculous to charge $60 to $100 FOR a palette made in China for probably $1. I’m sorry but they get no sympathy from me. Of course this is just my opinion.
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Definitely agree that they didn’t invent the colors, but what about the design of the palette and the way the colors are laid out? There should still be drugstore brands that have some creativity.
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