Supermarket Beauty Alternatives Can Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Products Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was selling a new skincare range that looked akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her closest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of the two products look noticeably similar. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established companies and provide cost-effective alternatives to high-end items. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists argue some alternatives to high-end labels are good quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is always better," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a program about famous people.

Many of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the essentials to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers investigate and state that more expensive products are at times worthy of the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only funding the label and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also stems from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research utilized to create the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert explains.

Beauty expert she suggests it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they could include filler ingredients that lack as significant benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using medical-grade labels.

She says these typically have been subjected to expensive studies to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to perform the trials" and can instead cite evidence completed by different brands, she adds.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Components on the label of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up