Grocery Store Skincare Alternatives Might Save You Hundreds. But Do Economical Skincare Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a supermarket was offering a fresh beauty line that appeared akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her closest outlet to purchase the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of both creams look noticeably alike. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

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

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and offer affordable alternatives to premium items. They often have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals argue certain dupes to high-end brands are decent quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably more effective," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," notes a podcast host, who presents a show featuring famous people.

Many of the products based on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the professionals also recommend buyers investigate and note that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and promotion - at times the increased cost also comes from the formula and their grade, the potency of the key component, the technology used to create the item, and trials into the item's efficacy, she says.

Facialist she suggests it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could have bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he added.

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist recommends using research-backed companies.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to costly trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label states about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use studies done by other brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a product is poor?

Components on the list of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up