High-Street Skincare Lookalikes Could Save Shoppers Hundreds. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Products Really Work?
Rachael Parnell
When a consumer found out a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that looked akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".
The shopper hurried to her nearest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.
Its smooth blue tube and gold top of both creams look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.
She has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.
More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recent study.
Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic established companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. They often have similar labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can vary substantially.
Victoria Woollaston
'Costly Is Not Always Superior'
Skincare professionals say many alternatives to high-end brands are good quality and aid make skincare less expensive.
"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably better," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every budget product line is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."
"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast about famous people.
Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he says.
Scott McGlynn
Skin specialist a doctor argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.
"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."
A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.
"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.
'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'
But the professionals also recommend buyers investigate and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worthy of the extra money.
Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the name and advertising - often the increased price tag also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the research utilized to develop the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, the expert says.
Facialist she says it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.
Sometimes, she says they might have filler ingredients that do not provide as many advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.
"One big question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.
Commentator Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".
"Don't be fooled by the packaging," he added.
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For more complicated products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends sticking to medical-grade companies.
She explains these will likely have been through expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.
Skincare products need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.
If the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs research to verify it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead cite evidence done by other brands, she says.
Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle
Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?
Ingredients on the label of the bottle are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up
