🔗 Share this article Grocery Store Beauty Lookalikes Could Save Consumers a Bundle. However, Do Budget Skincare Items Really Work? Rachael Parnell Rachael says with some lookalikes she "cannot distinguish the distinction". After discovering one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a recent beauty line that looked akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited". The shopper dashed to her closest shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item. Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two items look strikingly comparable. And though she has not used the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far. She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone. More than a quarter of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published survey. Alternatives are skincare products that imitate established brands and offer affordable alternatives to premium items. They frequently have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the components can vary considerably. Victoria Woollaston High-end vs affordable: Augustinus Bader's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while Aldi's new store-brand face cream is £8.49. 'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior' Beauty professionals say some substitutes to high-end labels are decent standard and help make skincare more affordable. "I don't think higher-priced is necessarily better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest." "Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast about public figures. A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says. Scott McGlynn Skincare expert Scott McGlynn states some affordable items he has tested are "fantastic". Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes. "Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will do the essentials to a satisfactory degree." A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane. "When 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 inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says. 'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging' Yet the experts also advise buyers check details and note that higher-priced products are at times worth the additional cost. Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - at times the higher cost also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology employed to develop the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo explains. Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost. In some cases, she states they could have less effective components that do not provide as significant benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality. "One major doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks. Podcast host Scott notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original". "Do not be sold by the packaging," he warned. SimpleImages/Getty Images Dr Bhate advises sticking to established labels for products with components like vitamin A or ascorbic acid. For potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting medical-grade companies. The expert explains these probably have been through expensive studies to assess how successful they are. Skincare products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth. When the company advertises about the performance of the product, it must have research to back it up, "however the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can instead reference studies conducted by other firms, she adds. Read the Label of the Pack Are there any components that could indicate a product is poor? Components on the list of the container are listed by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up