High-Street Skincare Lookalikes Can Save You a Fortune. But Do Affordable Beauty Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was selling a recent beauty line that looked akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The sleek blue packaging and gold top of each products look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a fourth of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. They often have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists argue certain alternatives to luxury labels are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably superior," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every budget skincare brand is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show with public figures.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will do the basics to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in using a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just funding the label and promotion - at times the higher price also comes from the formula and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the research used to create the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert explains.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's worth considering how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they could have filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends selecting more specialised labels.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively use evidence completed by different firms, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the tube are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up