Supermarket Skincare Alternatives Could Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Economical Beauty Items Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a discounter was selling a new skincare range that looked comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue container and gold lid of each items look strikingly similar. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, according to a February study.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy established labels and provide affordable options to high-end products. They often have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some alternatives to luxury labels are good quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily more effective," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all affordable skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a show featuring public figures.

Many of the items modeled on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

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

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the professionals also advise shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced items are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only funding the label and marketing - sometimes the higher price also stems from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to produce the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Skin therapist she suggests it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she believes they might include filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that look similar to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

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

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding potent products or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises sticking to research-backed companies.

She explains these typically have been through expensive studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert another professional.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead cite testing done by other firms, she adds.

Read the Label of the Pack

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

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