Grocery Store Skincare Lookalikes Could Save Shoppers a Fortune. But Do Economical Skincare Products Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a discounter was selling a new product collection that appeared comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She rushed to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The streamlined blue container and gold cap of both creams look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate well-known labels and provide affordable alternatives to premium products. They typically have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists say many dupes to high-end brands are good quality and help make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily better," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program with celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the basics to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

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

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the experts also suggest buyers do their research and say that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - often the higher price tag also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth questioning how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they might contain bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting more specialised companies.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the performance of the item, it needs data to support it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference testing done by other firms, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up