🔗 Share this article Grocery Store Beauty Alternatives Can Save You Hundreds. Yet, Do Affordable Beauty Products Actually Work? Rachael Parnell Rachael states with some alternatives she "cannot distinguish the distinction". Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that looked akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited". The shopper rushed to her local shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream. Its smooth blue container and gold cap of each creams look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far. Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company. Over a quarter of UK consumers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, according to a recently published poll. Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic established brands and provide affordable alternatives to high-end products. They frequently have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the components can vary considerably. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: One brand's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while the supermarket's new store-brand face cream is £8.49. 'Costly Isn't Always Superior' Beauty professionals say certain dupes to luxury brands are good quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable. "It is not true that more expensive is necessarily better," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the top." "Certain [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with public figures. Many of the products based on high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks. Scott McGlynn Skincare expert Scott McGlynn says a few budget products he has used are "fantastic". Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes. "Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will do the fundamentals to a reasonable level." Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient. "When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds. 'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging' However the specialists also advise buyers do their research and say that higher-priced products are at times worth the extra money. With premium skincare, you're not only funding the label and marketing - sometimes the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the technology employed to create the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes. Skin therapist another professional suggests it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively. Sometimes, she says they may have less effective components that do not provide as many benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected. "The key question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks. Expert McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original". "Do not be sold by the container," he added. SimpleImages/Getty Images Dr Bhate suggests opting for more specialised brands for items with ingredients like retinol or ascorbic acid. For more complicated items or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to research-backed brands. The expert explains these will likely have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how successful they are. Beauty products need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth. If the label advertises about the performance of the product, it needs data to back it up, "but the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different brands, she adds. Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle Are there any components that could suggest a product is poor? Components on the list of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up