🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was offering a recent skincare range that seemed akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its sleek blue container and gold cap of each items look noticeably similar. While she has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a February survey.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic well-known companies and provide budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products often have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty specialists contend some alternatives to luxury labels are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about famous people.

Numerous of the items based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the specialists also recommend buyers check details and say that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the label and advertising - at times the increased price tag also stems from the formula and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the science used to develop the item, and studies into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist she suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

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

"One key doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

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

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For potent items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends selecting more specialised brands.

She says these will likely have been through costly tests to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use testing completed by different firms, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up