🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a discounter was selling a recent skincare range that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her nearest store to purchase the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold cap of both items look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and provide cost-effective substitutes to luxury items. They typically have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals say many dupes to premium labels are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably better," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes a podcast host, who presents a show about public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the experts also suggest shoppers do their research and state that more expensive products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the name and promotion - often the elevated price also is due to the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to create the product, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they might contain filler ingredients that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he warned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised companies.

The expert states these probably have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it needs research to verify it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference testing conducted by different companies, she says.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Components on the list of the container are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up