High-Street Skincare Dupes Could Save Consumers a Bundle. Yet, Do Economical Skincare Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was selling a fresh beauty line that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her local outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of each products look remarkably similar. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy bigger name brands and offer cost-effective substitutes to high-end items. They often have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare specialists contend some dupes to premium labels are reasonable quality and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily better," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with public figures.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "They will do the basics to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also advise shoppers check details and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the label and advertising - often the increased price also stems from the components and their grade, the strength of the key component, the science employed to create the item, and studies into the products' performance, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

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

Expert McGlynn notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist recommends selecting research-backed labels.

The expert says these will likely have been through costly trials to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to support it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by other brands, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Components on the label of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up