Grocery Store Beauty Alternatives Can Save Consumers Hundreds. But Do Affordable Beauty Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her local outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold lid of the two items look strikingly alike. And though Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established brands and provide affordable substitutes to luxury products. These products frequently have alike labels and design, but occasionally the components can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals contend some substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably superior," says skin specialist one expert. "Not all budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a show about celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be alright in using a lookalike or something which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the experts also advise buyers do their research and state that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - at times the higher price also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the technology employed to produce the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, she says.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she states they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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For more complicated items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using research-backed companies.

The expert explains these probably have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how effective they are.

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

If the brand advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by other companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up