🔗 Share this article Supermarket Beauty Dupes Could Save Shoppers Hundreds. But Do Budget Skincare Items Really Work? Rachael Parnell She comments with certain alternatives she "cannot distinguish the variation". Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that looked similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited". Rachael hurried to her closest outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product. The smooth blue container and gold top of the two creams look strikingly similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far. She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend. Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey. Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and provide cost-effective alternatives to premium items. These products often have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the components can change substantially. Victoria Woollaston High-end vs affordable: Augustinus Bader's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while Aldi's new store-brand face cream is £8.49. 'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior' Skincare professionals say some alternatives to luxury labels are good standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive. "I don't think more expensive is always more effective," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all high-end skincare product is the finest." "Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program about public figures. A lot of of the products inspired by high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he observes. Scott McGlynn Podcast host Scott McGlynn states certain budget items he has tested are "fantastic". Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes. "Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a acceptable degree." Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and squalane. "When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains. 'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box' Yet the professionals also recommend shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the premium price. With premium skincare, you're not just covering the brand and advertising - sometimes the higher price also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the potency of the key component, the science utilized to develop the product, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo notes. Skin therapist she suggests it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively. In some cases, she believes they could have less effective components that don't have as many advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected. "One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says. Commentator McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original". "Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he warned. SimpleImages/Getty Images An expert suggests sticking to more specialised labels for products with ingredients like retinol or vitamin C. For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade labels. She states these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to determine how successful they are. Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional. If the label advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it requires data to verify it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite testing done by different companies, she adds. Read the Back of the Pack Are there any components that could suggest a product is poor? Components on the label of the container are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up