🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a discounter was selling a recent skincare range that appeared similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold top of both items look noticeably alike. While Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent poll.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic established brands and present cost-effective substitutes to premium products. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say certain substitutes to premium brands are decent standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably more effective," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a show about public figures.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the experts also advise buyers do their research and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and advertising - at times the elevated cost also is due to the formula and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to develop the product, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist she suggests it's valuable considering how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she says they might have filler ingredients that lack as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting research-backed labels.

She states these will likely have been through comprehensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to verify it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use studies completed by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a product is poor?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up