Grocery Store Skincare Lookalikes Could Save Shoppers a Bundle. However, Do Economical Skincare Products Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a supermarket was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her closest store to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The streamlined blue tube and gold top of both items look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published poll.

Dupes are skincare products that copy established labels and present cost-effective alternatives to premium products. They often have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts argue many substitutes to high-end labels are decent quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always better," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not all high-end skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show featuring celebrities.

Many of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the specialists also suggest consumers do their research and state that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the name and marketing - sometimes the elevated cost also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the science employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist she says it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they might contain less effective components that don't have as numerous advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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For potent products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting medical-grade labels.

She states these typically have been through expensive tests to determine how successful they are.

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

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference studies completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Read the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up