🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was offering a recent product collection that looked comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of the two items look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a February survey.

Dupes are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and present affordable substitutes to premium items. These products often have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty specialists contend certain substitutes to premium brands are decent standard and aid make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily more effective," comments dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast with famous people.

A lot of of the products based on high-end labels "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "These items will handle the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also advise buyers do their research and state that more expensive products are sometimes worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just funding the brand and marketing - often the elevated price also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the potency of the key component, the research employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist she argues it's valuable considering how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she believes they could contain bulking agents that do not provide as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding more complicated items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises sticking to research-backed labels.

She states these will likely have been through costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead use testing completed by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the container are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up