🔗 Share this article Supermarket Skincare Alternatives Might Save Consumers a Bundle. However, Do Economical Beauty Items Really Work? Rachael Parnell She says with some dupes she "can't tell the variation". Upon hearing one shopper found out Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that looked akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited". The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item. Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of both items look remarkably comparable. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far. She has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend. Over a fourth of UK shoppers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February poll. Alternatives are beauty items that mimic well-known companies and provide budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They often have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can vary substantially. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: Augustinus Bader's 50ml face cream retails for £240, while the supermarket's recent store-brand face cream is £8.49. 'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior' Beauty specialists say many dupes to premium labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive. "I don't think higher-priced is always better," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every affordable skincare brand is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the finest." "Certain [dupes] are really amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring celebrities. Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks. Scott McGlynn Skincare expert Scott McGlynn claims some budget products he has used are "fantastic". Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes. "These products will be effective," he comments. "These items will handle the basics to a satisfactory level." Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient. "When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds. 'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging' However the professionals also suggest shoppers check details and say that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the premium price. With luxury skincare, you're not only covering the label and marketing - often the higher price also comes from the formula and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to produce the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains. Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost. In some cases, she believes they may contain bulking agents that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced. "The big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says. Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version". "Don't be convinced by the packaging," he warned. SimpleImages/Getty Images Dr Bhate advises choosing more specialised brands for products with components like retinol or ascorbic acid. For advanced items or ones with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends using medical-grade companies. The expert says these probably have been through costly studies to assess how successful they are. Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says expert another professional. When the label states about the efficacy of the item, it needs data to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead use studies conducted by different brands, she says. Check the Label of the Pack Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior? Components on the back of the container are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up