Grocery Store Beauty Dupes Can Save Consumers a Bundle. But Do Affordable Skincare Items Really Work?
Rachael Parnell
When one shopper heard a supermarket was selling a new beauty line that appeared akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".
The shopper rushed to her nearest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.
Its sleek blue container and gold cap of each items look remarkably alike. Although Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.
She has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.
More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a February poll.
Lookalikes are skincare products that copy established brands and offer budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can change significantly.
Victoria Woollaston
'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'
Beauty specialists argue certain alternatives to high-end labels are good quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.
"In my opinion higher-priced is always better," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."
"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring public figures.
Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.
Scott McGlynn
Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.
"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."
Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.
"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.
'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'
But the specialists also advise shoppers check details and say that costlier items are at times worthy of the additional cost.
With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the name and advertising - at times the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the science employed to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, the expert says.
Facialist she says it's valuable considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.
Occasionally, she states they could include bulking agents that do not provide as many positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.
"The big question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.
Commentator Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".
"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.
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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises selecting more specialised companies.
The expert says these probably have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how successful they are.
Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.
If the company advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it requires research to support it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference studies completed by other brands, she adds.
Read the Back of the Bottle
Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?
Ingredients on the label of the bottle are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up
