🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a discounter was launching a recent product collection that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of the two products look strikingly similar. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name companies and present budget-friendly options to premium items. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some dupes to luxury labels are decent standard and assist make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily superior," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not all low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast with public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

However the professionals also advise shoppers check details and say that higher-priced items are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - at times the elevated price also is due to the components and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science used to develop the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist another professional argues it's important questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they may include less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends selecting more specialised companies.

She says these typically have been subjected to costly studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the brand doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite evidence done by other brands, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could signal a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up