Supermarket Skincare Lookalikes Could Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Affordable Skincare Products Really Work?
Rachael Parnell
Upon hearing a consumer found out a discounter was selling a new beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".
The shopper dashed to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.
Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two products look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.
She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.
More than a 25% of UK consumers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.
Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic bigger name companies and present cost-effective options to high-end products. These products often have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the components can differ substantially.
Victoria Woollaston
'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'
Beauty professionals contend many substitutes to luxury brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.
"I don't think more expensive is invariably more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable product line is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the top."
"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a show with public figures.
A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.
Scott McGlynn
Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.
"These products will do the job," he says. "These items will do the basics to a acceptable standard."
Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.
"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.
'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'
But the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and note that costlier items are at times worthy of the premium price.
Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - often the increased price also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to develop the product, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.
Skin therapist she argues it's important thinking about how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.
Sometimes, she says they might have bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.
"The major doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.
Podcast host Scott says in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".
"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.
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For potent items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting more specialised brands.
She states these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how successful they are.
Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.
If the company advertises about the performance of the product, it needs data to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use testing conducted by other companies, she says.
Examine the Ingredients List of the Container
Is there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?
Components on the list of the container are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up
