High-Street Beauty Alternatives Might Save You a Fortune. Yet, Do Affordable Beauty Products Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of both items look remarkably similar. And though she has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate bigger name brands and present affordable options to premium products. They often have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists say certain substitutes to high-end brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a podcast host, who presents a program featuring famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "They will handle the basics to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the specialists also suggest shoppers investigate and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and marketing - at times the higher price tag also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, she notes.

Beauty expert another professional argues it's worth thinking about how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they might include less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

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

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting more specialised labels.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to costly studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by other firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up