🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was offering a recent 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 pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

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

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy bigger name brands and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. They often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals say many alternatives to premium brands are decent quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is always superior," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the experts also suggest consumers investigate and note that costlier products are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the name and advertising - at times the elevated cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the research used to produce the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Facialist another professional argues it's important thinking about how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they might include bulking agents that lack as significant benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests using medical-grade labels.

The expert says these typically have been through expensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the company advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite studies completed by different firms, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could suggest a product is poor?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up