High-Street Skincare Alternatives Can Save Consumers a Bundle. Yet, Do Affordable Skincare Items Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was launching a new beauty line that appeared akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its smooth blue container and gold cap of both creams look strikingly alike. While she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and offer budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some dupes to luxury labels are decent standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is always more effective," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," says a skincare commentator, who runs a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also recommend consumers investigate and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just paying for the label and promotion - at times the increased cost also comes from the formula and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to develop the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, she says.

Skin therapist she argues it's worth questioning how certain dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they may contain filler ingredients that do not provide as significant benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott says sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the packaging," he cautioned.

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For advanced items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises sticking to research-backed brands.

She says these probably have been through costly studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use studies completed by different brands, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is poor?

Components on the back of the tube are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up