High-Street Skincare Alternatives Might Save You Hundreds. Yet, Do Affordable Beauty Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that appeared akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The streamlined blue tube and gold top of each products look remarkably alike. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and offer affordable alternatives to high-end products. They typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts contend many dupes to high-end brands are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a show about public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is very affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also recommend consumers investigate and say that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the label and marketing - at times the elevated cost also is due to the components and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the research utilized to create the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert she suggests it's valuable considering how some alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they might contain less effective components that do not provide as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

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

Expert McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends selecting more specialised brands.

The expert says these typically have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use evidence completed by different brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is poor?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up