🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her local shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of the two items look strikingly similar. And though she has not used the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK buyers report they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and provide budget-friendly substitutes to luxury products. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some dupes to luxury labels are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably better," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with famous people.

Many of the items modeled on luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

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

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is quite affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also recommend buyers check details and say that more expensive products are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the name and marketing - often the elevated cost also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the technology utilized to produce the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's worth questioning how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they might contain filler ingredients that lack as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be sold by the container," he cautioned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises using more specialised companies.

The expert says these typically have been subjected to expensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to verify it, "but the brand doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead cite studies done by other companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up