Rachael Parnell
Upon hearing a consumer found out a supermarket was launching a new beauty line that looked similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".
Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.
The smooth blue container and gold top of the two creams look noticeably similar. And though Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.
She has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.
Over a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, according to a February study.
Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and present cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can change considerably.
Victoria Woollaston
Beauty specialists contend many alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.
"I don't think costlier is necessarily better," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."
"Some [dupes] are really impressive," notes a podcast host, who presents a show about famous people.
Many of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.
Scott McGlynn
Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.
"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."
Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.
"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.
However the experts also advise consumers do their research and note that more expensive products are sometimes worth the additional cost.
Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the label and advertising - often the elevated cost also stems from the components and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the research used to create the item, and tests into the products' performance, the expert says.
Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's worth considering how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.
Sometimes, she states they could have bulking agents that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.
"One big question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.
Commentator McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the original".
"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.
SimpleImages/Getty Images
For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises using medical-grade labels.
She explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive trials to assess how effective they are.
Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert another professional.
When the brand advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively use testing completed by other firms, she says.
Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?
Components on the label of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up
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