High-Street Beauty Lookalikes Could Save You a Bundle. But Do Budget Beauty Items Actually Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that looked similar to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its sleek blue container and gold lid of the two creams look remarkably comparable. While she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and offer cost-effective options to premium items. These products typically have alike labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty specialists argue certain alternatives to luxury brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably superior," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all budget product line is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast about famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the professionals also advise buyers check details and note that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With high-end skincare, you're not only funding the label and advertising - often the elevated cost also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology employed to produce the item, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could contain bulking agents that do not provide as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

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

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends using more specialised labels.

She states these typically have been through comprehensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label 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 alternatively use testing completed by different firms, she says.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Is there any components that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the list of the tube are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up