🔗 Share this article Supermarket Beauty Alternatives Could Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Budget Beauty Products Perform? Rachael Parnell She says with a few dupes she "can't tell the variation". When a consumer found out Aldi was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited". The shopper dashed to her local shop to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream. Its sleek blue tube and gold cap of the two creams look noticeably alike. While she has not used the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far. Rachael has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone. Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey. Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic bigger name labels and present affordable options to luxury products. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the components can differ considerably. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: One brand's 50ml face cream retails for £240, while the supermarket's recent Lacura face cream is £8.49. 'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior' Skincare professionals argue many dupes to luxury brands are good standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive. "It is not true that more expensive is necessarily better," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the top." "A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast with celebrities. Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes. Scott McGlynn Podcast host Scott McGlynn says a few affordable items he has used are "fantastic". Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers. "Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable standard." Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane. "If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains. 'Don't Be Swayed by the Box' However the experts also recommend buyers check details and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the premium price. With premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and promotion - sometimes the higher price tag also comes from the components and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says. Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply. Sometimes, she says they might contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected. "One big question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says. Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original". "Don't be fooled by the container," he cautioned. SimpleImages/Getty Images An expert advises opting for established labels for products with components like retinol or vitamin C. For advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests selecting research-backed companies. She explains these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are. Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional. If the company states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to back it up, "however the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use studies conducted by other companies, she clarifies. Check the Label of the Container Is there any components that could indicate a item is poor? Components on the list of the tube are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up