The closest Drunk Elephant dupe is Cliganic Organic Marula Oil for Virgin Marula Luxury Face Oil: both are a single ingredient, marula oil. Next comes The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution for T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial, two rinse-off acid masks built on the same five acids. Third, The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane stands in for A-Passioni Retinol Cream, with the same 1% retinol in a very different base. For Protini, the dupe is The INKEY List Peptide Moisturizer, and for D-Bronzi it’s e.l.f. SKIN Bronzing Drops. A dupe gets you the product type, the key ingredients and the job. It doesn’t get you Drunk Elephant’s exact formula or its textures, and it may not match what the brand leaves out: Drunk Elephant says all eight originals here have no silicones, fragrance or essential oils.
The eight at a glance
1. Drunk Elephant marula oil dupe: Cliganic Organic Marula Oil
There’s no formula to compare here. Drunk Elephant’s ingredient list for Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil is one line long: 100% unrefined marula kernel oil.
Cliganic Organic Marula Oil has a one-line list too. It’s marula seed oil, which the brand describes as organic and cold-pressed, at about a seventh of the price. The bottle linked here is 1 ounce, the same size as Drunk Elephant’s. What a label can’t tell you is how each company sources and presses its oil. Our piece on face serums versus face oils covers where an oil fits.
2. Drunk Elephant Babyfacial dupe: The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial is a once-a-week mask you rinse off. Drunk Elephant labels it 25% AHA and 2% BHA: glycolic, tartaric, lactic and citric acids plus salicylic acid, at a stated pH of 3.5. The directions allow up to 20 minutes.
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution has the same five acids at a higher total, with a pH the brand puts at about 3.5 to 3.7. The Ordinary caps it at 10 minutes, twice a week at most, and says it’s only for experienced acid users, not for sensitive, peeling or compromised skin. The bottle is smaller, 30 ml to Babyfacial’s 50, and still works out to about a fifth of the price per ounce. Both brands tell you to wear sunscreen while you’re using it and for a week after. Never used an acid? Start with our guide to PHA, AHA and BHA, and ask a dermatologist whether a peel suits your skin at all.
3. Drunk Elephant A-Passioni dupe: The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane
A-Passioni Retinol Cream puts 1% retinol in a proper cream. The same formula carries niacinamide, three peptides, a ceramide, and passionfruit, apricot, marula and jojoba oils.
The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane matches the number that matters, 1% retinol, in the same 30 ml size at about a sixth of the price. It’s a water-free oil serum of squalane and jojoba oil, eight ingredients long, with none of the peptides or niacinamide. One percent is the top of The Ordinary’s retinol-in-squalane range. The brand suggests starting at its 0.2% version and working up, and Drunk Elephant says to begin at once or twice a week. Both say retinol isn’t recommended during pregnancy or nursing, so ask your doctor first. New to it? See our retinol picks for beginners.
4. Drunk Elephant B-Hydra dupe: CeraVe Hyaluronic Acid Serum
B-Hydra Hydration Serum is built on two hydrators, provitamin B5 and sodium hyaluronate, with pineapple and watermelon extracts and niacinamide around them.
CeraVe Hyaluronic Acid Serum has both of those hydrators, sodium hyaluronate and panthenol (the label name for B5), and adds three ceramides. CeraVe calls it a gel-cream serum, and it’s free of added fragrance. The catch for a Drunk Elephant loyalist is dimethicone, a silicone, fourth on CeraVe’s list. CeraVe’s bottle is also smaller, 1 ounce to B-Hydra’s 1.69, so it’s about half the price per ounce, not a third. If silicone doesn’t bother your skin, this is an easy swap.
5. Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi dupe: e.l.f. SKIN Bronzing Drops
D-Bronzi Sunshine Drops is a bronze-tinted serum you stir into moisturizer. The color comes from mica and iron oxides, and the formula around it has cocoa extract, peptides and marula oil. It isn’t a self-tanner and it has no SPF.
e.l.f. SKIN Bronzing Drops works the same way, in the same 30 ml size, for under a third of the price. e.l.f. makes four shades where D-Bronzi comes in one, and says its formula has marula oil too, along with sunflower seed oil and vitamin E. The link here goes to Pure Gold. It’s the dupe our D-Bronzi review names, and that review’s one reservation holds: e.l.f. reads a little more shimmery. Want the sheerer finish with a softer sheen? Stay with D-Bronzi.
6. Drunk Elephant C-Tango dupe: CeraVe Vitamin C Eye Cream
C-Tango Multivitamin Eye Cream is crowded in a good way: five forms of vitamin C, eight peptides, three ceramides (NP, AP and EOP), cucumber extract, and marula and avocado oils.
CeraVe Vitamin C Eye Cream keeps the same three ceramides. Where C-Tango uses vitamin C derivatives, CeraVe uses pure ascorbic acid at 5%, listed third, then adds caffeine and hyaluronic acid. It’s fragrance-free and the size is the same half ounce, at a bit over a quarter of the price. You give up the peptides and both oils, and you pick up dimethicone. If the eye area stings or turns red with either cream, stop and check with a dermatologist.
7. Drunk Elephant Protini dupe: The INKEY List Peptide Moisturizer
Drunk Elephant describes Protini Polypeptide Cream as a lightweight gel-cream, and the ingredient list earns the name: nine signal peptides, a long run of amino acids, and no fragrance.
The INKEY List Peptide Moisturizer is a fragrance-free peptide cream too, but a simpler one: two peptides, not nine, in a base with shea butter, and INKEY pitches it at dry skin. It’s the dupe our Protini review picks. A note on the table: it links the half-ounce jar, the small size of Protini. It also comes as a 50 ml refill and a 100 ml jar. INKEY’s full 1.69 ounces costs about half as much as that small jar. If the gel-cream texture is what you love, that’s the reason to stay.
8. Drunk Elephant Slaai dupe: The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm
Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter Cleanser is a solid balm you massage onto a dry face with dry hands. Add water and it turns from oil to milk. The list opens with ethylhexyl palmitate, caprylic/capric triglyceride and safflower oil, then adds marula, sweet almond and a handful of fruit oils. No fragrance.
The INKEY List Oat Cleansing Balm follows the same routine: dry skin first, then warm water to emulsify, then rinse. The lead ingredients differ. INKEY starts with sweet almond oil, which sits far down Slaai’s list, and builds on 5% oat kernel oil. Both contain sunflower seed wax, and INKEY’s has no fragrance. It’s a bigger size, 5 fluid ounces to Slaai’s 3.88 ounces by weight, at under half the price. Our double cleansing guide covers what comes after a balm.
How we picked
We started with well-known Drunk Elephant products, then matched each to one cheaper product of the same type. Pairs are ranked by how much of the label they share.
Some big names are missing on purpose. T.L.C. Framboos isn’t in the table. Our Framboos review covers it and its dupe. Lala Retro and C-Firma Fresh are out because there wasn’t a pair where we could link both products.
When the expensive one is still worth it
When what you’re paying for is what’s been left out. Drunk Elephant says all eight originals have no silicones, fragrance or essential oils, and not every dupe can say the same. Both CeraVe picks contain dimethicone. If your skin has a history with any of those, read the dupe’s label before you switch.
The other case is acids. Our Framboos review argues that the cushioned, buffered base is most of what the price buys. With Babyfacial, the checkable difference is on the label: 25% AHA to The Ordinary’s 30%, and Drunk Elephant describes its current formula as gentler than the old one.
If I Were You
- If you only swap one thing, I’d swap the marula oil. It’s one ingredient on both labels, and it’s one of the biggest gaps on this page.
- If your skin is sensitive or reactive, I’d leave both acid masks alone, keep retinol low, and start with the INKEY moisturizer and the Cliganic oil. For persistent redness or stinging, see a dermatologist first.
- If you avoid silicones, I’d pass on the two CeraVe dupes and keep B-Hydra and C-Tango.
- If you’ve never used retinol, I wouldn’t buy either 1% product yet. Start lower and work up.
- If you love the Drunk Elephant routine and want to keep one piece, I’d keep Protini for the texture and dupe the oil, the peel and the balm.
FAQ
Is there an exact dupe for Drunk Elephant?
Only the marula oil comes close to exact, because both are a single ingredient. Everything else is a different formula that does a similar job.
What’s the best Drunk Elephant Protini dupe?
The INKEY List Peptide Moisturizer. It’s a fragrance-free peptide cream in the same 50 ml size as the standard Protini jar, though it has two peptides where Protini has nine, and shea butter in the base.
Is The Ordinary Peeling Solution the same as Babyfacial?
No. The two have the same five acids, but The Ordinary’s is labeled 30% AHA to Babyfacial’s 25%, and its directions cap it at 10 minutes. Treat it as the stronger product. Acids can irritate, so if you have eczema, rosacea or very reactive skin, ask a dermatologist first.
Are Drunk Elephant dupes safe for sensitive skin?
Some suit it better than others. The moisturizer, serum and oil dupes are fragrance-free or single-ingredient. The peel and the 1% retinol are the strong ones. The Ordinary says its peel isn’t for sensitive skin, and Drunk Elephant tells anyone with sensitive skin to check with a physician or patch test before Babyfacial. Our skin care archive has gentler routes for both.
Bottom line
Drunk Elephant’s best ideas are simple ones: one good oil, a stated percentage of a well-known active, no fragrance or silicone. Simple is easy to match. Dupe the oil, the peel, the retinol and the bronzing drops. Keep the originals where the texture or the missing silicone is the reason you bought them.
