🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a discounter was selling a recent product collection that appeared akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of the two creams look remarkably similar. While she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established labels and offer budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They often have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals argue many alternatives to premium brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a program with public figures.

Many of the items based on luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

But the specialists also suggest shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the name and marketing - often the increased price also stems from the components and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the research utilized to create the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist she suggests it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they may have less effective components that do not provide as many benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the container," he cautioned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting more specialised labels.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare products must be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference testing done by different brands, she adds.

Read the Label of the Container

Is there any components that could signal a product is inferior?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up