Supermarket Beauty Dupes Could Save Consumers a Fortune. But Do Economical Skincare Items Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

When a consumer learned Aldi was launching a recent beauty line that seemed akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of both creams look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recent survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and offer budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They typically have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend some dupes to luxury brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always more effective," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a podcast host, who runs a podcast with celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is very low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the specialists also advise buyers do their research and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only covering the label and marketing - often the increased price also stems from the formula and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the science employed to create the item, and studies into the item's performance, the expert says.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could have filler ingredients that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting research-backed labels.

The expert says these probably have been through expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the brand doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead reference studies done by different companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up