Grocery Store Skincare Dupes Can Save Consumers Hundreds. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a discounter was selling a new beauty line that looked comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of both creams look noticeably alike. While she has not used the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK buyers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic well-known brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They frequently have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say many alternatives to luxury brands are good standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always more effective," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a podcast host, who runs a show with famous people.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "They will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is very affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the professionals also advise shoppers check details and note that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only funding the name and advertising - sometimes the higher price tag also stems from the components and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the research used to create the item, and tests into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Facialist another professional argues it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they may contain filler ingredients that lack as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott admits in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he added.

SimpleImages/Getty Images

Regarding advanced products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist recommends using research-backed brands.

The expert explains these probably have been subjected to costly studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it must have data to verify it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead cite testing conducted by other brands, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the list of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up