Rachael says that with some of the dupes, “I can’t tell the difference.”
Rachael Parnell was “super-excited” when she heard that Aldi was selling a new line of skin care products that looked like ones from the high-end brand Augustinus Bader.
She hurried to the nearest store to get the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml. This is a small amount compared to the £240 price of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.
The blue tube and gold lid of both products look very much alike. Rachael hasn’t tried the expensive cream yet, but she says she’s impressed with it so far.
Aldi told the BBC that its Lacura skincare line had “attracted a new demographic” and that it was “compared against leading beauty brands to make sure quality is matched and often surpassed.”
Rachael has been buying fake skincare products from stores and supermarkets for years, and she’s not the only one.
More than 25% of UK shoppers say they have bought a fake makeup or skin care product. A survey by Barclays in February found that this number goes up to 44% for people aged 18 to 34.
Dupes are skincare products that look like more expensive brands but are cheaper. Their names and packaging are often similar, but the ingredients can be very different in some cases.
Rachael, 34, from Warwickshire, says she likes budget options because they are cheap and the quality is often good.
She says, “It’s the same to me, I can’t tell the difference,” when asked about two cleansing balms she bought, one from a high-end brand and the other from a cheap brand.
‘Expensive isn’t necessarily better’
Some skincare experts say that some lower-end brands are just as good as high-end ones and can help make skincare more affordable.
Consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo says, “I don’t think more expensive is always better.” “Not every cheap skincare brand is bad, and not every expensive skincare product is the best.”
Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast where he asks celebrities about their skin care routines, says, “Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing.”
He says that a lot of the products that are based on luxury brands “sell out so fast, it’s just insane.”
Ross Perry, an aesthetic and dermatology doctor, says it’s okay to use dupes for “basic skincare” like moisturisers and cleansers.
He says, “Dupes will serve a purpose.” “They will do the basics well enough.”
When looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and squalane, consultant dermatologist Ketaki Bhate says you can save money.
She says, “If you’re buying a single-ingredient product, you can probably use a dupe or something cheap because there’s not much that can go wrong.”
‘Don’t be sold by the packaging’
But the experts also say that people should do their own research and that sometimes it’s worth paying more for a product.
Dr. Belmo says that when you buy luxury skincare, you’re not just paying for the brand and advertising. Sometimes the higher price is because of the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology used to make the product, and studies that show how well the products work.
Rhian Truman, a facialist, says it’s worth thinking about why some dupes are so cheap.
She says that in some cases, they might have filler ingredients that aren’t as good for the skin or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.
“How is it so cheap?” is the big question mark, she says.
Scott, the host of the podcast, says that in some cases he’s bought skincare products that look like a well-known brand but don’t look like the original.
“Don’t be fooled by the packaging,” he said.
Dr. Bhate says that for products that are more complicated or have ingredients that can irritate the skin if they aren’t made correctly, like retinols or vitamin C, it’s best to stick with brands that are more specialised.
She says that these probably went through costly tests to see how well they work.
Emma Wedgeworth, a consultant dermatologist, says that skincare products must be tested before they can be sold in the UK.
She says that if a brand says its product works, it needs data to back it up. However, the seller doesn’t have to do the testing themselves; they can instead point to testing done by other brands.
Check the back of the pack
Are there any ingredients that could show that a product is not very good?
The ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed in order of how much there is of each. Miss Truman says that “the bad things you should look out for” are mineral oil, sodium lauryl sulphate, parfum, and benzoyl peroxide, which are all high on the list of ingredients.
The BBC sent Dr. Bhate two BHA 2% salicylic acid toners with similar packaging and lists of ingredients. One is usually six times more expensive than the other.
Dr. Bhate says that the list of active ingredients in both products “looks pretty similar, no red flags.” However, she points out that the products have different formulations with solvents and humectants, which break down ingredients and keep the skin hydrated, respectively.
“This will probably make the two products work differently,” she says.
Dr. Bhate also looked at the ingredients lists for two serums that had similar names, one from a high-end skin care brand and one from a grocery store.
She says that even though the packaging looks the same, the cheaper product “doesn’t seem to have the same ingredients” and the more expensive one “seems more complex with barrier lipids and more marine extracts.”
But for a lot of people, looking at the list of ingredients on a bottle of moisturiser, cleanser, or serum can be too much.
Riya Asher, a chemist and aesthetician, says, “Sometimes it feels like looking at the back of a skincare product ingredient list is like having a chemistry lesson.”
She says to pay attention to how high up the list the active ingredient is. This is the one that causes the effect, like retinol or vitamin C. If you don’t know which ingredient is the active one, she suggests looking it up online.
Dr. Belmo says that when you look at the back of bottles, you should pay attention to your skin care needs, like avoiding oils for acne-prone skin or staying away from scents for sensitive skin.
Mamabella is a website where Victoria Woollaston writes reviews of skin care products.
She has used both an Augustinus Bader serum and the new product from Aldi. She told the BBC that the Aldi serum felt thinner, but that Augustinus Bader’s is stronger and could irritate some people.
Victoria thinks that skincare dupes are about to become very popular because of the cost of living crisis, which makes people want to get the most for their money, and because people are becoming more interested in the ingredients in their skincare products.
She says that these companies aren’t taking customers away from high-end beauty brands. In her opinion, a lot of the people who buy cheap alternatives wouldn’t have been able to afford the expensive products in the first place.
Victoria says, “What my years of tests show is that value and effectiveness can 100% coexist.”
