Grocery Store Skincare Alternatives Might Save Shoppers Hundreds. Yet, Do Affordable Skincare Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a discounter was launching a new skincare range that appeared similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue packaging and gold cap of the two products look noticeably similar. While she has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, as per a February poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name labels and offer affordable substitutes to premium items. These products typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend some substitutes to premium brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring famous people.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "They will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is very low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the specialists also suggest shoppers do their research and state that costlier products are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and marketing - at times the increased cost also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the technology employed to produce the product, and trials into the products' performance, she says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's important considering how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may include filler ingredients that lack as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert McGlynn notes sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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For potent items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using medical-grade brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use evidence completed by other companies, she says.

Read the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the list of the bottle are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up