🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold cap of each items look noticeably comparable. While she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK shoppers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy well-known brands and offer affordable options to premium products. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare specialists argue certain alternatives to luxury brands are good standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is necessarily better," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable product line is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a podcast host, who presents a podcast featuring famous people.

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be alright in using a budget alternative or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also suggest buyers check details and note that costlier products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only funding the name and promotion - sometimes the higher price also stems from the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the product, and trials into the products' performance, she explains.

Facialist she argues it's worth questioning how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may include filler ingredients that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

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

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to more specialised companies.

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

Beauty items must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert another professional.

If the label advertises about the performance of the item, it needs data to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by different firms, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Bottle

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

Components on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up