🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue tube and gold cap of the two creams look noticeably similar. Although she has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK consumers report they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and present affordable substitutes to luxury products. They often have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals say certain alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all budget product line is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a program about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers check details and state that costlier items are at times worthy of the extra money.

With premium beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - at times the elevated price tag also stems from the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the item, and studies into the item's performance, she notes.

Beauty expert another professional says it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they may have bulking agents that do not provide as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests using research-backed labels.

She says these typically have been through expensive trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it requires evidence to support it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to perform the trials" and can instead reference studies completed by other brands, she adds.

Check the Back of the Bottle

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

Components on the list of the container are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up