Supermarket Beauty Alternatives Can Save Shoppers Hundreds. However, Do Budget Beauty Items Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was launching a recent skincare range that seemed akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her nearest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The streamlined blue tube and gold cap of the two items look strikingly alike. Although she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known brands and offer affordable alternatives to premium items. These products often have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say some dupes to premium brands are decent standard and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is always better," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast with famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he comments. "They will perform the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or a product which is very affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also advise buyers check details and note that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not only funding the name and marketing - often the elevated cost also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's performance, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's valuable considering how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may contain filler ingredients that don't have as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The key uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to more specialised companies.

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

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite evidence done by different companies, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

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

Components on the list of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up