Supermarket Skincare Alternatives Could Save Shoppers a Bundle. Yet, Do Affordable Skincare Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a supermarket was launching a recent product collection that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of each products look strikingly alike. While she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers report they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy well-known brands and offer cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. They typically have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty specialists say certain dupes to high-end brands are reasonable quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably better," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show with famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the experts also suggest shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and advertising - sometimes the elevated price tag also comes from the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology employed to produce the product, and studies into the products' effectiveness, she notes.

Facialist another professional says it's important thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they could contain bulking agents that lack as significant benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

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

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the container," he warned.

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Regarding advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends using medical-grade brands.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the company states about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the trials" and can instead cite evidence conducted by different brands, she says.

Check the Label of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up