🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her local store to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold lid of both items look noticeably alike. Although she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate established labels and present budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. These products typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists contend many dupes to luxury brands are good quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily more effective," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a podcast with celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he comments. "They will perform the essentials to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is quite affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the professionals also suggest shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - often the increased price tag also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to produce the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist she argues it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they might include filler ingredients that don't have as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For advanced products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed labels.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to determine how successful they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use evidence done by different brands, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

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

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