High-Street Skincare Alternatives Can Save Shoppers a Fortune. But Do Affordable Skincare Products Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a discounter was launching a fresh product collection that appeared akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold cap of both products look noticeably comparable. While she has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and offer budget-friendly options to high-end products. They typically have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend certain alternatives to premium labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always more effective," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program with public figures.

Numerous of the products based on high-end labels "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a dupe or something which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the experts also suggest consumers investigate and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - often the elevated price also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the research employed to produce the product, and tests into the products' performance, the expert notes.

Beauty expert another professional says it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she says they might contain bulking agents that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends using medical-grade companies.

She says these typically have been through costly studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the label states about the performance of the product, it requires research to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use testing done by different brands, she adds.

Check the Label of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the container are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up