🔗 Share this article Grocery Store Beauty Alternatives Could Save You a Bundle. But Do Affordable Beauty Products Actually Work? Rachael Parnell She says with certain alternatives she "can't tell the variation". After discovering one shopper heard a discounter was selling a recent product collection that seemed comparable to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited". Rachael dashed to her local shop to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream. The smooth blue container and gold top of each items look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far. She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone. More than a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February study. Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and offer budget-friendly options to premium products. These products often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can vary significantly. Victoria Woollaston Luxury vs budget: Augustinus Bader's 50ml face cream is priced at £240, while the supermarket's new Lacura face cream is £8.49. 'Costly Is Not Always Better' Beauty professionals contend certain dupes to luxury labels are good quality and help make beauty routines less expensive. "I don't think higher-priced is always superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest." "Certain [dupes] are truly excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast featuring public figures. A lot of of the items based on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes. Scott McGlynn Skincare expert Scott McGlynn states some affordable items he has used are "great". Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers. "Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will perform the essentials to a satisfactory standard." Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane. "If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says. 'Do Not Be Sold by the Box' But the professionals also advise buyers do their research and say that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the premium price. Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - sometimes the increased cost also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research used to develop the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says. Beauty expert she argues it's important thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost. Sometimes, she believes they could have less effective components that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced. "The major doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says. Expert Scott notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product". "Do not be sold by the packaging," he added. SimpleImages/Getty Images Dr Bhate advises opting for clinical brands for products with ingredients like vitamin A or vitamin C. Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests using medical-grade companies. She says these typically have been through expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are. Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert another professional. When the company makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs data to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by different brands, she says. Check the Back of the Container Are there any components that could suggest a item is inferior? Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up