🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was launching a recent skincare range that appeared comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest outlet to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of each products look remarkably alike. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to luxury products. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts argue certain dupes to luxury labels are reasonable quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably better," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a show about public figures.

Many of the products modeled on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the specialists also advise consumers investigate and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the name and promotion - often the elevated cost also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the technology employed to develop the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important questioning how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they could have bulking agents that don't have as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For potent products or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises selecting research-backed brands.

The expert says these will likely have been subjected to costly tests to determine how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the efficacy of the item, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up