This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase (at no cost to you!)
If you like to follow beauty trends and have ever fallen into the black hole of #skincaretok, chances are you’ve come across the bright Drunk Elephant packaging before. Housed in their signature white packaging with brightly colored lids, the brand creates some extremely high-quality products that are loved by a large fan base.
The cult-favorite skincare brand is particularly known for its effective formulations and high-quality ingredients. However, with these quality ingredients does come a more premium price tag that can deter a lot of beauty enthusiasts who are shopping on a budget.
Fortunately, there are plenty of Drunk Elephant dupe products out there that offer comparable benefits without breaking the bank. In this article, we will be sharing 11 of the best Drunk Elephant dupes that can save you money while helping you to achieve healthy, radiant skin — just like the original Drunk Elephant products.
The Best Drunk Elephant Alternatives
If you don’t have a particular Drunk Elephant dupe in mind, you may be interested to know about some of the brands that offer high-quality skincare but at prices that are a lot more easy-on-the-wallet compared to Drunk Elephant.
To save yourself some pennies and achieve the best skin of your life, try some of these brands:
Versed Skincare
When it comes to great Drunk Elephant skincare dupes, we love Versed. All of their products come in at under $20, a very good price considering the formulations of the products are anything but cheap.
Although you can buy their products online, you can also find them in-store at Target.
Our favorite Versed products:
- Versed Mood Lighting Luminizing Glow Drops
- Versed Dew Point Moisturizing Gel-Cream
- Versed Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm – Eucalyptus Oil + Vitamin E
The Ordinary
The Ordinary was probably one of the first super affordable skincare brands that sent the beauty world crazy. The simple formulas offered a new way to enjoy some of the most efficient skincare ingredients at an extremely low price point.
They may not be the most sophisticated formulas, but there is a range of incredible products that can help with everything from battling dehydrated skin to fading dark spots.
Our favorite The Ordinary products:
- The Ordinary Peeling Solution
- The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
- The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution
La Roche-Posay
If you have sensitive skin or just want to use products that promise to be a little bit more gentle on the skin, look no further than this cult French pharmacy brand.
La Roche-Posay is known for making gentle, anti-inflammatory products that aren’t too harsh on the skin. Whether you want to try their face oil, or a serum to banish clogged pores, you can be sure that nothing is ever going to be too irritating on your skin.
Our favorite La Roche-Posay products:
- La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo Dual Action Acne Treatment
- La Roche Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Face Wash
- La Roche Posay Cicaplast Balm Vitamin B5 Soothing Therapeutic Cream
The Inkey List
Similar to The Ordinary, The Inkey List offers a range of products that have simple formulas and very low price tags, unlike Drunk Elephant. They have a range of great cleansers and serums that are packed with some of our favorite skincare ingredients like niacinamide, peptide polyglutamic acid, and hyaluronic acid.
Our favorite The Inkey List products are:
- The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum
- The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm
- The INKEY List Polyglutamic Acid Hydrating Serum
11 Drunk Elephant Dupes You Need To Try
Looking for the best Drunk Elephant dupe for your favorite products from this cruelty-free brand? We’ve listed 11 of our favorite products and some incredible dupes that perform the same, but with a much more palatable price tag.
Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial Dupe
The Drunk Elephant T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial is an exfoliating mask that promotes smoother skin and a more radiant complexion. It contains both AHAs and BHAs to buff away dead skin cells and lightly exfoliate the skin, leading to a youthful-looking glow and exceptionally smooth skin.
Although this hardworking mask is good for people who struggle with dull skin, or who want to retain their youthful complexion for as long as possible, the full-sized version of this product is going to set you back $80 for just 50ml of product.
A more affordable alternative is The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, like the Drunk Elephant product, The Ordinary Peeling Solution contains a mixture of AHAs and BHAs to gently exfoliate the skin. It’s been a fan favorite on TikTok for some time and although it is a great dupe, be careful not to keep this on for too long as it can start to irritate the skin — even if you’re not particularly sensitive.
Drunk Elephant C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum Dupe
Vitamin C should be a staple product in everyone’s morning skincare routine; this superstar ingredient helps to brighten the skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and can even strengthen your SPF.
Although this is an ingredient that no one should do without, it can be difficult to find a good vitamin C product. This ingredient needs to be stabilized in order to perform well and some formulas are just not up to scratch — which is why so many people love the Drunk Elephant C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum with ferulic acid.
A good alternative to this vitamin C serum is the Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum, which contains vitamin C, ferulic acid, and hyaluronic acid. This concoction of ingredients is perfect for providing antioxidant protection and helps even out skin tone.
Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream Dupe
If you have dry skin and are always on the hunt for a cream that’s going to seal in moisture and keep your skin feeling hydrated throughout the day, the Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream would probably be a new favorite of yours. This protein-rich moisturizer nourishes the skin and promises to improve elasticity with the help of ingredients like folic acid ferment extract.
Although it’s going to leave your skin feeling plump and nourished after using it, there are also plenty of other moisturizers on the market that will have the exact same effect on your skin. A great alternative is the Acure Radically Rejuvenating Whipped Night Cream, which you can purchase from Ulta.
This product shares a lot of the same ingredients as the Drunk Elephant moisturizer including peptides, pure hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants. This dupe performs in just the same way as the higher-end product to provide intense hydration and support a more youthful complexion by encouraging collagen production — it even has a very similar whipped texture.
Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum Dupe
If you want to keep your skin hydrated through heatwaves or long winters, hyaluronic acid is the ingredient that you need to add to your skincare routine. This miraculous ingredient is able to hold multiple times its weight in moisture, helping to lock hydration in all day long.
The Drunk Elephant B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Serum is a great example of how effective hyaluronic acid can be. It’s an extremely lightweight gel serum that helps boost your skin’s natural moisture barrier and provides extreme hydration that will satisfy even people with the dryest of skin.
The good thing about hyaluronic acid is that you don’t need to spend lots of money to get a high-quality product. In fact, our favorite hyaluronic acid costs less than $10. The Inkey List’s Hyaluronic Acid Serum is a great dupe for the Drunk Elephant B Hydra serum; it has an extremely lightweight formula, doesn’t feel sticky on the skin, and provides a noticeable improvement in hydration even after the first use. It’s ideal for all skin types but those who are in need of a hydration boost will notice the biggest difference.
Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil Dupe
The Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil is a nourishing oil that’s a great final step of your evening skincare routine to lock in moisture and encourage all the skincare products that you put on before it to work at their best. This product in particular is extremely moisturizing, and soothing and protects the skin while you’re sleeping.
If you like the sound of this product but don’t like the idea of shelling out $68 to have it, we’d steer you in the direction of The Ordinary 100% Cold-Pressed Virgin Marula Oil, which is derived from the same source and offers similar benefits. This affordable option is rich in antioxidants, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids, which can help to address a range of skin concerns along with providing hydration and promoting a radiant complexion.
Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream Dupe
The Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream is a rich moisturizer that combines six African oils and fatty acids to deeply hydrate and repair the skin’s natural moisture barrier. Not only does this product help to solve a whole host of skin concerns, but it’s especially good for people who suffer from extra dehydrated skin.
A good dupe of this product that we’ve found is the e.l.f Fragrance-Free Holy Hydration! Face Cream, which provides instant relief and hydration to dry skin in a luxurious, non-greasy texture.
Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser Dupe
The Drunk Elephant Beste No. 9 Jelly Cleanser is a gentle yet effective cleanser that removes makeup, impurities, and excess oil. It’s great as a morning cleanse or a second cleanse after you’ve used something oil-based to remove the bulk of the makeup from your face.
Cleansers are a product that we don’t recommend spending a lot of money on as they are only on your skin for a minute before you wash them down the drain, so always try and save your money during this step of your routine by getting an affordable cleanser. We love the Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser which you can pick up from most drugstores, it has a nice formula that doesn’t feel stripping or harsh on the skin. Although it’s not strong enough to remove makeup, it’s great for leaving your skin feeling clean and hydrated.
Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi™ Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops Dupe
We’ve all heard about this product in some form, it’s the hottest makeup/skincare hybrid of the summer that is helping thousands of us to get the sunkissed complexion that feels like a must in the warmer months. The Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi™ Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops are essentially shimmering bronzer drops that you can use itself for an all-over bronzed skin tone, or add to your moisturizer or foundation for that added glow.
If you can’t afford this product, or just can’t find it on the shelves of Sephora at the moment, the Indeed Labs Nanobronze Bronzing Drops are a great alternative that is almost identical to the original product. They provide a flawless bronzey glow to the skin with just the right amount of shimmer to give you a healthy, sun-kissed complexion.
Drunk Elephant A-Shaba Complex Retinol Eye Serum with Caffeine + Copper Peptides Dupe
Eye cream is one of the steps of our skincare routines that are hotly contested: is it important, or can we just blend in our moisturizer to cover this fragile part of our face? Wherever you land in this argument, there’s no denying that the Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum is intensely nourishing and effectively targets the signs of aging and fatigue around the eyes.
For an affordable dupe, we’ve chosen the CeraVe Eye Repair Cream. This product contains a luscious mixture of ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide to hydrate, brighten, and reduce puffiness — all you need is a few drops to cover the entire eye area. This product will also work on all skin types as the formula is gentle, fragrance-free, and suitable for sensitive skin.
Drunk Elephant Glycolic Night Serum Dupe
The Drunk Elephant Glycolic Night Serum is a potent exfoliating treatment that helps improve skin texture and reduce the appearance of fine lines. You can use this product a couple of times a week to help with acne-prone skin and if you have an uneven skin tone.
Unlike ingredients like salicylic acid which is a BHA, glycolic acid is known as an AHA (or alpha-hydroxy acid) which can help fade dark spots and post-acne marks.
An alternative dupe is the Pixi Glow Tonic, a cult-favorite toner that contains 5% glycolic acid to gently exfoliate and brighten the skin. Although this formula isn’t the same as the gel-like serum of Drunk Elephant, it still provides the same effects and is suitable for all skin types to promote a more radiant complexion.
Drunk Elephant C-Tango™ Vitamin C Eye Cream Dupe
We’ve got another popular eye cream to add to this list of the best dupes, coming in the form of the Drunk Elephant C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream. This revitalizing treatment targets multiple signs of aging around the delicate eye area when it needs a little extra TLC. After consistent use, you should begin to notice brighter, tighter, and more radiant under the eyes.
The Inkey List Caffeine Eye Cream is a really great alternative to the pricey product and still contains a powerful mixture of caffeine, peptides, and vitamin C to provide the same benefits to users — which makes it a great Drunk Elephant dupe. You can use this product in the morning or evening to reduce puffiness, dark circles, and fine lines. No matter what skin type you have, you won’t have to worry about adding this eye cream to your skincare routine as the formula is lightweight, absorbs quickly, and provides effective results.
Drunk Elephant Products for Removing Dead Skin Cells
If you have oily skin or acne-prone skin, looking for products that remove dead skin cells and promote a smooth, radiant complexion is important. Drunk Elephant have a range of products that have exfoliating acids in them, like salicylic acid, which works wonders in dissolving dead skin cells and unclogging pores. We’d recommend something like the Drunk Elephant Glycolic Night Serum which uses acid exfoliation to penetrate deep into the skin, improving the skin’s texture, targeting excess oil, and reducing inflammation.
You can also find exfoliating products that feature other active ingredients, such as fruit enzymes and additional exfoliating acids, to maximize their efficacy, like in the Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Fresh Day Serum. Fruit enzymes, such as pumpkin and papaya extracts, gently digest dead skin cells, revealing fresh, new skin underneath.
Exfoliating acids are particularly useful for unclogging pores, reducing the appearance of fine lines, acne scars, and uneven skin tone. By removing the dull and rough outer layer of the skin, these products leave you with brighter skin that looks smoother and more youthful by encouraging the turnover of new skin cells.
Drunk Elephant Products for Sensitive Skin
When you have sensitive skin, it can feel like you have to be extra careful about the products you put on your face for fear of getting irritation or some type of allergic reaction. When shopping the Drunk Elephant range, it will be easy to find a product that works for your skin as their formulas are packed with gentle yet effective ingredients like hyaluronic acid (or sodium hyaluronate), shea butter, vitamin E, jojoba oils, amino acids, avocado oil, marula oil and more.
To hydrate your skin properly every day for sensitive skin types, look into getting a good quality moisturizer to seal in all the moisture, but also invest in a good quality hydrating serum as an in-between step within your routine.
We’d recommend looking into products like their B-Hydra™ Intensive Hydration Serum with Hyaluronic Acid, Lala Retro™ Whipped Refillable Moisturizer with Ceramides or the F-Balm™ Electrolyte Waterfacial Mask. All of these products have an impressive lineup of ingredients that soothe and hydrate the most sensitive skin — with no irritation in sight.
Drunk Elephant Products for Dull Skin
Finally, if you’ve got dull skin your main aim will be to add some glow and brightness to your skin. Whether you’re struggling with uneven skin tone, a lackluster appearance, or diminished skin elasticity, Drunk Elephant has products infused with powerful ingredients to help you achieve a youthful glow.
One of the ingredients you should add to your routine if you haven’t already is a retinol cream. Retinol is a derivative of vitamin A known for its ability to promote skin renewal and improve texture. Drunk Elephant has their A-Passioni Retinol Cream, which helps to stimulate collagen production, smooth out fine lines, and fade dark spots to fix an uneven skin tone.
You could incorporate some products that use fruit extracts or plant extracts rich in antioxidants and vitamins to brighten the skin, reduce discoloration, and impart a natural radiance. Alternatively, you could look for products that contain vitamin E which can be an effective antioxidant to address dullness, protect your skin from environmental stressors, and enhance skin elasticity.
Conclusion
If you want to take good care of your skin, you shouldn’t be expected to give up your entire paycheck on the most expensive products on the shelves — and these 11 Drunk Elephant dupes prove that.
Whether you’re looking for a powerful exfoliator, a nourishing moisturizer, or an effective vitamin C treatment, the best drunk elephant dupes provide similar benefits at a fraction of the cost. With these wallet-friendly alternatives, you can say hello to healthy, radiant skin without breaking the bank.
What are your favorite Drunk Elephant dupes?
