High-Street Skincare Dupes Might Save Consumers Hundreds. However, Do Economical Beauty Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was selling a new beauty line that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her nearest store to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of each creams look noticeably alike. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate established companies and offer affordable options to high-end products. These products frequently have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts say many dupes to high-end brands are good standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with celebrities.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory standard."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also suggest buyers investigate and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not just paying for the name and marketing - at times the higher price also is due to the formula and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the research utilized to develop the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they might contain bulking agents that lack as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting medical-grade brands.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "but the brand doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up