🔗 Share this article High-Street Skincare Lookalikes Could Save Consumers a Bundle. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Products Really Work? Rachael Parnell Rachael states with some lookalikes she "fails to see the difference". Upon hearing a consumer found out a supermarket was launching a fresh beauty line that looked akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited". She dashed to her local outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product. The streamlined blue container and gold cap of each products look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far. Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company. More than a quarter of UK shoppers report they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a February study. Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and provide cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They frequently have similar labels and design, but in some cases the components can vary significantly. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: One brand's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while the supermarket's recent Lacura face cream is £8.49. 'Costly Is Not Always Superior' Skincare experts argue many substitutes to luxury labels are reasonable quality and help make skincare less expensive. "I don't think higher-priced is always better," says skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top." "Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show with famous people. Numerous of the items based on luxury labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes. Scott McGlynn Skincare expert Scott McGlynn states some budget products he has tested are "great". Medical expert a doctor argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes. "Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level." Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane. "If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains. 'Do Not Be Sold by the Box' But the experts also advise buyers do their research and note that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the extra money. With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - often the increased price also comes from the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research used to produce the item, and tests into the products' performance, the expert notes. Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost. In some cases, she says they might have bulking agents that lack as numerous benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced. "The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks. Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product". "Don't be fooled by the packaging," he warned. SimpleImages/Getty Images Dr Bhate advises sticking to established brands for items with ingredients like vitamin A or ascorbic acid. Regarding more complicated 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 recommends using research-backed companies. She states these typically have been through comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are. Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes expert another professional. When the label makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "however the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can instead use testing done by other companies, she adds. Check the Ingredients List of the Container Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior? Components on the back of the tube are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up