Supermarket Beauty Lookalikes Could Save Shoppers a Fortune. However, Do Affordable Skincare Products Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold top of both products look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44% among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. They often have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals contend many substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always more effective," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," notes a podcast host, who hosts a podcast about celebrities.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and state that more expensive products are at times worthy of the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the brand and advertising - often the elevated price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the potency of the key component, the science used to produce the item, and tests into the products' performance, the expert says.

Facialist she suggests it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they could include less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

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

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends using medical-grade brands.

She says these probably have been subjected to costly studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the efficacy of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead use testing completed by different brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

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