High-Street Beauty Alternatives Might Save Shoppers a Fortune. But Do Affordable Beauty Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was selling a fresh product collection that appeared akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her local shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of the two products look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic established companies and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty experts say some dupes to premium brands are reasonable quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show featuring famous people.

Many of the items modeled on luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the experts also advise shoppers investigate and say that costlier products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the name and advertising - sometimes the elevated price tag also stems from the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to develop the item, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they could include filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

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

Podcast host Scott notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed brands.

She explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead cite evidence conducted by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

Are there any components that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the container are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up