High-Street Beauty Dupes Could Save You a Bundle. However, Do Budget Beauty Products Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold lid of each creams look noticeably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established companies and present cost-effective options to high-end products. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say some dupes to premium labels are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably better," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every budget skincare brand is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the experts also suggest buyers check details and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the name and promotion - at times the elevated price tag also stems from the components and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science employed to develop the product, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could contain bulking agents that do not provide as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For potent items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised brands.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use evidence completed by different companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up