🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a fresh product collection that appeared similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold cap of the two products look noticeably similar. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

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

More than a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, as per a recently published study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and offer affordable options to luxury products. They typically have similar labels and design, but occasionally the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts argue certain alternatives to high-end brands are reasonable standard and aid make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always more effective," comments dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," notes a podcast host, who hosts a podcast about famous people.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

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

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the label and promotion - sometimes the increased cost also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science used to develop the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, she says.

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

Sometimes, she believes they might contain bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he cautioned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

For potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to costly trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it needs evidence to support it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use studies conducted by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up