Grocery Store Skincare Lookalikes Can Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Items Perform?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a discounter was offering a new skincare range that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her local store to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two creams look remarkably similar. While she has not used the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, based on a February study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and offer budget-friendly substitutes to luxury products. They typically have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts argue many alternatives to premium brands are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is always superior," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program featuring celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by luxury brands "run out so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the essentials to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers check details and note that more expensive products are at times worthy of the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just covering the name and marketing - at times the higher cost also stems from the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research utilized to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, she explains.

Facialist she argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they could include less effective components that do not provide as many benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott notes sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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For advanced products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using more specialised brands.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to do the trials" and can instead use testing done by other companies, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the container are ordered by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up