As in, why are beauty dupes pretty widely accepted without any/much criticism when fast fashion is facing heavy criticism for copying designs?

What’s the difference between clothing and beauty dupes to you?

Expounding the phenomenon of dupes, he [de Jocas] added, “Brands are approaching them on a shade-by-shade level, and it’s an incredibly strategic and smart way to optimize your business if you can get down to that granularity around dupes.”

Although beauty brands in the past may not have copped to promoting product replicates, they’re getting more comfortable with the proposition. “NYX has been incredibly promiscuous about it,” de Jocas said. “They went as far as sending an email to their database positioning their products next to a Kylie Lip Kit to say this NYX shade is a dupe for the Kylie Lip Kit shade. They are completely transparent about what they are trying to do.”

The customer acquisition caused by hunts for dupes could be meaningful even for brands that don’t have substantial dupe businesses… “As soon as they can hook the customer and get them on their site, they can serve them up amazing content and other consumer discovery vehicles,” de Jocas said. “Now, the consumer is aware of what they have, and they might come back to buy a mascara or something else later on.”

That’s something you’d NEVER hear about F21 copying something straight off the runway. Do you support beauty dupes? Do you see a moral difference between the two?

A couple scenarios I have in mind:

You see a gorg bag in a magazine retailing for $4,995. You don’t have that kind of money (and even if you did, you wouldn’t spend it on that bag!) so you go out to a fast fashion retailer and pick up a similar looking bag for $35. Is this okay? Why or why not?

You see an amazing lipstick retailing for $55. You decide that that’s too much for your beauty budget and opt for a dupe that retails for $12.

The sweater you’ve been saving for all month is out of stock! You cry, but get over it and buy an almost identical sweater still in stock from a different brand. Bonus: the second choice was cheaper.
A coveted highlighter has just sold out and you can’t imagine life without Edward-levels of glitter on your cheekbones. You do some searching online and find a similar product still in stock – that’s also cheaper! (Now you can buy two highlighters and cover your entire body in iridescent sparkles woooooo)
Is there a difference between these scenarios to you? Are any wrong? (I think if you wanted to mention the trickle down effect vs fast fashion dupes this could get interesting as well – have at it.)

Update: Also if you want to go into ethics you can also do that….. figured the first few comments would remark on that more =]