Supermarket Skincare Alternatives Could Save You a Fortune. But Do Economical Skincare Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that looked comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her nearest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of both creams look remarkably similar. And though she has not used the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recent survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy established labels and offer affordable options to premium products. These products typically have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals argue many dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily more effective," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," says a podcast host, who runs a show featuring public figures.

Many of the items inspired by high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he says. "They will handle the basics to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

However the experts also suggest shoppers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the brand and promotion - sometimes the elevated price also stems from the formula and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the science used to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert notes.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they could contain bulking agents that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott says in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these probably have been through expensive trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it needs research to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite evidence completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up