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I’ve tried Oladupe and I can categorically say that if you’re already an Olaplex No.3 fan, you’ll love it. Unbelievably, it contains the exact same ingredients, the exact same formula and even the same 160 patents.
That’s because – spoiler alert – Oladupe isn’t your run-of-the-mill dupe. In fact, it isn’t a dupe at all – let us explain.
Ask any well-established beauty brand what their biggest bugbear is, and slash-price copies that piggyback off the creativity and scientific prowess of the original are likely to top the list. So, in a deft sleight of hand, Olaplex launched the fictitious Oladupe No.160 with the tag line “The only genuine Olaplex dupe”.
160 refers to Olaplex’s 160 patents and consumers were driven to Oladupe.com, where the first 160 people to register were sent a free bottle of Oladupe (actually a bottle of Olaplex No. 3) and the joke was explained.
In other words, Olaplex has decided to enter the dupe space but with its very own product. “This campaign tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, meeting consumers where they are and playfully educating them on the one-of-a-kind and proven repair and strengthening benefits of our bond-building technology, which cannot be copied or duped,” JuE Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Olaplex, explained in a press statement.
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but, in this instance, Oladupe will surely go down in beauty folklore as the ultimate clap back to dupe culture.
For more from Fiona Embleton, GLAMOUR’s Acting Associate Beauty Director, follow her on @fiembleton.