🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a recent beauty line that looked similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of each products look strikingly similar. While she has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent poll.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic established brands and offer budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare experts contend certain alternatives to premium brands are good quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily more effective," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about public figures.

Many of the products modeled on high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers check details and note that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just funding the brand and marketing - sometimes the increased price also stems from the formula and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the science used to produce the item, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert says.

Skin therapist she suggests it's important questioning how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may have less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

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

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises sticking to more specialised labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through costly trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to back it up, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference evidence done by other companies, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Components on the label of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up