Supermarket Beauty Dupes Might Save Shoppers a Fortune. Yet, Do Affordable Skincare Products Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was launching a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her closest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The sleek blue tube and gold top of each creams look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent poll.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic bigger name labels and provide affordable substitutes to high-end products. They typically have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain substitutes to premium labels are decent standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably superior," comments dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a program with public figures.

Many of the items modeled on luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will do the basics to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

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

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the specialists also suggest buyers check details and say that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the name and advertising - often the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the science employed to produce the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert she argues it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they could contain less effective components that do not provide as significant benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding advanced items or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises using medical-grade brands.

She states these probably have been subjected to costly tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite testing completed by different brands, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the list of the container are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up