🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that appeared comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop 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 cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold lid of both items look remarkably comparable. While she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and provide cost-effective options to premium products. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare professionals contend some alternatives to high-end brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a program featuring famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also advise shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced products are at times worth the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - at times the elevated cost also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the research used to develop the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, the expert explains.

Skin therapist she argues it's worth considering how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they might have bulking agents that don't have as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the container," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For advanced items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests using research-backed companies.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to back it up, "however the brand doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up