🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that seemed comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold cap of the two items look noticeably comparable. Although she has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy well-known companies and provide affordable substitutes to luxury items. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists contend some substitutes to luxury labels are decent standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily superior," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not every premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast with public figures.

Many of the products inspired by luxury labels "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "They will perform the basics to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

But the experts also suggest buyers investigate and note that more expensive items are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the brand and advertising - often the elevated cost also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Facialist she says it's valuable considering how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they might include filler ingredients that do not provide as significant benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought beauty products that look similar to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends using research-backed companies.

She states these will likely have been through costly tests to determine how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it requires data to support it, "but the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead use testing completed by different companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up