Grocery Store Beauty Lookalikes Can Save Consumers a Bundle. However, Do Affordable Beauty Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer heard Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold top of each products look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a February poll.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and offer affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists say many substitutes to luxury labels are good standard and assist make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily more effective," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast featuring public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or a product which is quite low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

However the specialists also suggest shoppers investigate and note that more expensive items are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just covering the label and advertising - often the elevated price tag also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the key component, the science employed to produce the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist another professional suggests it's important considering how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they might contain less effective components that don't have as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

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

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting more specialised labels.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference studies conducted by different companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a product is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up