🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a discounter was offering a new skincare range that appeared similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue tube and gold top of the two creams look remarkably alike. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy established brands and provide affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have similar labels and design, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts contend some dupes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget skincare brand is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," adds a podcast host, who presents a podcast about celebrities.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the professionals also suggest consumers investigate and state that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With premium beauty products, you're not just covering the name and marketing - often the increased price also stems from the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the technology employed to create the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they may have filler ingredients that lack as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting medical-grade brands.

The expert says these probably have been through comprehensive trials to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite testing completed by different companies, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up