Grocery Store Skincare Dupes Might Save Shoppers a Fortune. Yet, Do Economical Skincare Products Perform?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned a discounter was launching a recent beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue container and gold lid of the two creams look strikingly comparable. Although she has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic bigger name brands and present affordable alternatives to luxury items. They often have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists say certain substitutes to premium brands are decent quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably more effective," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all affordable product line is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a podcast host, who runs a show about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the basics to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the label and promotion - often the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to develop the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist another professional argues it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could have bulking agents that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he added.

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For potent products or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert states these typically have been through costly studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by other companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up