High-Street Beauty Dupes Can Save You a Fortune. However, Do Affordable Skincare Products Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned Aldi was selling a recent skincare range that looked comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two creams look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. These products often have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the components can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty professionals argue many dupes to high-end labels are good standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is necessarily superior," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is bad - and not all premium skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a podcast host, who runs a podcast about celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury brands "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the professionals also suggest consumers investigate and note that costlier products are at times worth the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - at times the elevated price also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the science employed to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, the expert says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's worth questioning how some dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could have less effective components that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he added.

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Regarding advanced products or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends using more specialised companies.

She says these typically have been through comprehensive trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the company makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs data to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Components on the back of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up