The Best Peter Thomas Roth Dupes

The closest Peter Thomas Roth dupe is The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F for Potent-C Power Serum: both are built on the same vitamin C derivative, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, at 20%, and The Ordinary’s costs about a fifth as much. Next is The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane for Retinol Fusion PM, two retinol serums with squalane. Third, L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 3.5% Glycolic Acid Cleanser stands in for the Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel, since both exfoliate with glycolic and salicylic acids. For Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream, the dupe is Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel. A dupe gets you the product type, the main active and the job. It doesn’t get you Peter Thomas Roth’s supporting ingredients or its textures, and the last two of the seven matches below are loose ones.

The seven at a glance

Prices are approximate, and they change often.

1. Peter Thomas Roth Potent-C dupe: The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F

Potent-C Power Serum is a creamy, water-based serum with 20% THD ascorbate, short for tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a vitamin C derivative. It’s backed by 3% vitamin E and 2% ferulic acid, with turmeric, ginseng, jojoba esters and squalane further down. It’s fragrance-free.

The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F uses the same derivative at the same 20%. Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is second on its ingredient list, and the bottle is the same 30 ml. The rest is where they split. The Ordinary’s is a water-free, silicone-free oil with only seven ingredients: the vitamin C, vitamin F in the form of ethyl linoleate, jojoba oil, squalane and a tomato extract among them. There’s no vitamin E or ferulic acid, and The Ordinary suggests it for dry skin. So you get the headline ingredient in an oil, without the two antioxidants Peter Thomas Roth pairs it with. Our vitamin C serum guide has water-based options if an oil isn’t for you.

2. Peter Thomas Roth Retinol Fusion PM dupe: The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane

Retinol Fusion PM Night Serum has 1.5% microencapsulated retinol, which Peter Thomas Roth says releases gradually overnight to keep irritation down. The base is a silicone followed by squalane, with vitamins C and E and bisabolol.

The Ordinary Retinol 1% in Squalane is the same idea with less in it. Squalane is the first ingredient, retinol is at 1%, and the formula is water-free and silicone-free, in the same one-ounce size. The retinol isn’t encapsulated, and The Ordinary itself suggests starting with its 0.2% version and working up, so treat this as a strong retinol. It also needs the fridge once opened and should be used within three months. Both brands say to wear sunscreen during the day. The Ordinary advises avoiding retinoids when pregnant or breastfeeding, and that’s a question for your doctor. New to retinol? Our beginner retinol picks start lower.

3. Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel dupe: L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 3.5% Glycolic Acid Cleanser

Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel is a gel cleanser that exfoliates with glycolic and salicylic acids as it cleans. It has peach, grapefruit, lime and lemon extracts, added fragrance and two dyes, and Peter Thomas Roth recommends it for all skin types except sensitive.

L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 3.5% Glycolic Acid Cleanser is a gel cleanser with the same two acids: 3.5% glycolic acid, plus salicylic acid. It’s fragrance-free and dye-free, with aloe and menthol, and L’Oréal says it’s meant for daily use, morning and evening. The bottle is smaller, 6.7 ounces to Peter Thomas Roth’s 8.5, and it still comes to a little over half the price per ounce. You give up the fruit extracts and the scent. Both labels carry the same sunburn alert that goes with any alpha hydroxy acid, so sunscreen isn’t optional with either one. Our glycolic acid guide explains why.

4. Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench dupe: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel

Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Cream is a light, whipped moisturizer in a refillable 1.7-ounce jar. It has three molecular sizes of hyaluronic acid, five ceramides and saccharide isomerate, sold as Pentavitin, which Peter Thomas Roth says helps hold hydration for up to 72 hours. It’s fragrance-free.

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel is the dupe our Water Drench review names, and the two formulas are built from the same top three ingredients: water, glycerin and dimethicone. Hydro Boost has sodium hyaluronate and sodium PCA in common as well, and adds a run of amino acids. It comes in a refillable 1.7-ounce jar too, for about half the price. It has no ceramides and no saccharide isomerate, and it contains fragrance and a blue dye. Neutrogena sells a fragrance-free Hydro Boost gel-cream if that matters to you.

5. Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber De-Tox eye patches dupe: Good Molecules Caffeine Energizing Hydrogel Eye Patches

Cucumber De-Tox Hydra-Gel Eye Patches are cooling gel patches for tired, puffy-looking under-eyes: 30 pairs in a jar, worn for 10 to 15 minutes. They’re soaked in cucumber extract, aloe and caffeine, with niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed collagen and arnica. They contain fragrance and colorants.

Good Molecules Caffeine Energizing Hydrogel Eye Patches cost about a third as much for the same 60 patches and the same 10 to 15 minutes. The overlap is the de-puffing side of the formula: caffeine at 1%, niacinamide at 2%, aloe, allantoin, green tea extract and sodium hyaluronate. Good Molecules adds licorice root extract and a peptide, and the patches are fragrance-free. What’s missing is the cucumber, along with the collagen and arnica. Patches like these are a short-term refresh. For puffiness or darkness that never lets up, see a doctor, and read our guide to dark circles.

6. Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx Peeling Gel dupe: Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel

FIRMx Peeling Gel is the kind of exfoliator that rolls up as you massage it on dry skin. It works two ways. Cellulose, the second ingredient, is the physical exfoliant, and pineapple and pomegranate enzymes add a chemical step that you can extend by leaving the gel on for up to five minutes. Glycerin and hyaluronic acid are there to offset dryness.

Beauty of Joseon Apricot Blossom Peeling Gel gives you the first half only. It’s a cellulose peeling gel too, with cellulose third on the list after water and plum blossom water, and Beauty of Joseon describes it as a physical exfoliant. No enzymes. It’s fragrance-free, made for face and body, and nearly the same size, 100 ml to FIRMx’s 3.4 ounces, for about a quarter of the price. Beauty of Joseon suggests once or twice a week, and Peter Thomas Roth one to three times. If you stretch either one further, our piece on over-exfoliating covers the warning signs.

7. Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask dupe: Andalou Naturals Pumpkin Honey Glycolic Mask

Pumpkin Enzyme Mask exfoliates three ways: pumpkin enzyme, an alpha hydroxy acid and aluminum oxide crystals that polish as you massage it in. It’s 16% pumpkin purée, scented, and stays on for three to seven minutes, once or twice a week.

Andalou Naturals Pumpkin Honey Glycolic Mask is the loosest match here. It’s a pumpkin mask with an alpha hydroxy acid too: pumpkin purée is its first ingredient and glycolic acid is in the formula, with manuka honey, vitamin C, and cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. It has no polishing crystals, so there’s no scrub step, and it sits longer, 15 to 20 minutes. The jar is also a third of the size, 1.7 ounces to Peter Thomas Roth’s 5. Per ounce, the saving is closer to a third than the table suggests. Andalou says to expect a tingle. Neither is a mask for skin that’s already irritated.

When the expensive one is still worth it

When the extras are the reason you bought it. Potent-C pairs its vitamin C with vitamin E and ferulic acid in a cream-serum, and the dupe is a plain oil. Retinol Fusion PM encapsulates its retinol, and The Ordinary’s doesn’t. If your skin has been comfortable on the Peter Thomas Roth version of either, that comfort is part of what you’re paying for.

Size changes the math on the Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. A five-ounce jar used twice a week lasts months, and it does a scrub step the Andalou mask can’t.

If I Were You

• If you only swap one thing, I’d swap Potent-C for The Ordinary’s vitamin C oil. It’s the same derivative at the same strength, and it saves about $74 a bottle.
• If you’ve never used retinol, I wouldn’t start with either serum in pair two. Begin lower, then decide.
• If your skin reacts to fragrance, I’d look at the L’Oréal cleanser and the Good Molecules patches, both fragrance-free where the Peter Thomas Roth original isn’t. Skip classic Hydro Boost and keep Water Drench, which is the fragrance-free one of that pair. For a rash or stinging that doesn’t settle, see a dermatologist.
• If you go through eye patches fast, I’d buy Good Molecules and stop thinking about it. At about 30 cents a patch, daily use is easy to justify.
• If your skin is dry and Water Drench is what fixed it, I’d keep it. Hydro Boost shares the base but not the ceramides.

Bottom line

Peter Thomas Roth sells well-known actives in nicer formulas. Where the active is the point, as with the vitamin C, the retinol and the acid cleanser, the dupe gets you most of the way for a fraction of the price. Where the texture or the extra step is the point, as with the Cloud Cream’s ceramides and the Pumpkin Enzyme Mask’s polish, the original still has something the cheaper one doesn’t.