High-Street Skincare Alternatives Might Save Shoppers a Bundle. But Do Affordable Beauty Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was offering a fresh skincare range that looked akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of both products look remarkably similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, according to a February study.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and provide cost-effective alternatives to premium items. They often have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts contend many dupes to luxury brands are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think higher-priced is always superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who presents a podcast with public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the specialists also suggest buyers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the name and advertising - at times the higher price tag also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, the expert says.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's important questioning how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they could include bulking agents that lack as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he added.

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For advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises sticking to medical-grade labels.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to comprehensive studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the label advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it requires research to back it up, "but the brand does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by different brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Are there any components that could signal a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the tube are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up