🔗 Share this article

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned Aldi was launching a recent beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of both items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic established labels and provide cost-effective options to high-end products. They typically have similar names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals argue some substitutes to premium brands are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily better," says skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," says a podcast host, who presents a show with famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he comments. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the professionals also suggest consumers check details and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - often the elevated cost also comes from the formula and their grade, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology used to develop the product, and tests into the products' performance, she notes.

Skin therapist she suggests it's important considering how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they could have filler ingredients that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises using medical-grade brands.

She explains these typically have been through comprehensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it must have research to verify it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference studies done by different brands, she clarifies.

Read the Label of the Pack

Are there any components that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up