🔗 Share this article High-Street Beauty Dupes Can Save You a Bundle. Yet, Do Affordable Beauty Products Perform? Rachael Parnell She comments with certain alternatives she "can't tell the distinction". After discovering a consumer learned a discounter was launching a fresh skincare range that seemed comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited". The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item. Its sleek blue container and gold top of both products look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far. She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend. More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a February poll. Alternatives are skincare products that imitate established companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. They often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can differ considerably. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: Augustinus Bader's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while Aldi's recent store-brand face cream is £8.49. 'Expensive Isn't Always Better' Beauty specialists contend many substitutes to high-end labels are decent standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable. "I don't think more expensive is invariably more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest." "A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program with celebrities. Many of the items based on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks. Scott McGlynn Podcast host Scott McGlynn states a few budget items he has used are "fantastic". Skin specialist another professional thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers. "These products will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a reasonable standard." A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane. "When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains. 'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging' But the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the premium price. With premium skincare, you're not only funding the brand and marketing - often the elevated price also stems from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to create the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, the expert explains. Facialist Rhian Truman says it's worth questioning how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively. In some cases, she states they might contain bulking agents that don't have as many advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected. "One key doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks. Expert Scott says sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product". "Do not be convinced by the container," he added. SimpleImages/Getty Images An expert recommends sticking to clinical labels for items with components like vitamin A or vitamin C. For potent products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade companies. She says these typically have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how efficacious they are. Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert another professional. When the company states about the performance of the product, it needs data to support it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by different companies, she says. Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is poor? Components on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up