High-Street Beauty Alternatives Might Save Consumers a Fortune. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Products Perform?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was offering a new skincare range that looked similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold top of the two products look noticeably alike. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy established companies and offer cost-effective options to premium items. They often have alike labels and design, but in some cases the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists argue certain dupes to luxury brands are good quality and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is always superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a program with famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the professionals also advise buyers investigate and note that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only funding the label and promotion - often the elevated price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the science used to produce the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they might have bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The key question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert explains these will likely have been through expensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead use evidence completed by other firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up