Being on maternity leave, dupes are more on my radar than ever at the moment and supermarket chain Aldi seem to be becoming the undisputed home of the champion copycat product.
Their *ahem* limited edition homages regularly cause stampedes in store, sell out online and crop up on eBay for triple the price immediately (thereby completely eradicating the point of them in the first place!).
People seem to have an enduring fascination because the reviews of Lacura products I've done befoeenon the blog consistently get traffic, even years after writing, and are among some of my most popular posts!
The dupes I've tried before of theirs have all been pretty amazing, so I can never resist giving them a try.
The beauty Internet was buzzing with the news that they were coming out with challenger products for the cult hit Sand & Sky face makes, GlamGlow mask and cleanser and Pixi Glow Tonic so I was determined to get my hands on them!
But when I made it to my local store, I thought I was out of luck as the shelves had been emptied with no sign of the coveted skincare.
Just when I was about to give up and go home empty handed, I found the very last one of each parked somewhere completely random (probably someone trying to squirrel them away for later, so if that was you, sorry not sorry!). Heart racing at my last minute finds I raced to the till!
Lacura Glycolic Glow Tonic £3.99
A dupe for Pixi Glow Tonic, £18.00, which, when it launched, quickly created a new market for acid based toners. People loved the radiant effect it gave their skin and I quickly fell for it as I've never liked the feel of gritty scrubs on my face.
So could Lacura’s much cheaper alternative measure up? Well, sadly, although the packaging looks near identical, the ingredients list is nowhere near as impressive as the original.
The Pixi original has aloe, witch Hazel, ginseng, horse chestnut and urea to boast in addition to the five percent glycolic acid they both share.
The Lacura dupe isn't quite as conditioning for the skin, but still does an effective job at gently removing dead skin cells and leaving skin fresh and smoothed.
Lacura Purifying Pink Clay Mask £5.99
If you've ever been on Instagram, you will have seen this inescapable face mask popping up somewhere on your feed. It looks amazing and every single influencer seems to rave about it, so it's been something I've wanted to try for a while.
But with the original costing £39.50, could a six pound dupe possibly be just as good?
With three types of clay- pink, bentonite and kaolin, it promises to detoxify skin and brighten it.
I liked the results but it wasn't life changing - I haven't tried the original either, though. This would probably be more suited to oily skins as well, as mine is more dry.
Lacura Exfoliating Mud Mask £5.99
I am such a huge fan of GlamGlow - their face masks really do seem to have that magic that makes you look like a teenager again. They are pricey, but in my opinion,worth the money.
One product of theirs I haven't tried though, is the Exfoliating Mud that this Lacura Charcoal mask is a dupe for. Again, my skin type doesn't really need mud masks too often.
I actually didn't like this product very much. Expecting a gentle tingle when it goes onto the skin, I was horrified to find it burns, to the point where I had to wash it off the first time I used it!
Since then, I have toughed it out a couple more times but although it does give a deep clean I really dislike how harsh this feels on the skin. I don't have especially sensitive skin, but this product made it feel like it was on fire! So if you do tend to flare up at things, I would suggest that you give this one a miss.
It promises to absorb excess sebum, reduce the appearance of imperfections and create a mattified clear complexion.
Lacura Charcoal Mud To Foam Cleanser £5.99
A dupe for the GlamGlow SuperCleanse at £23.99, this is formulated to address imperfections while giving a gentle but thorough cleanse.
It has an exfoliating action, dissolving dirt and dead skin cells with glycolic and lactic acids. It also has powdered charcoal to purify, clay, coconut and bamboo extracts, and eucalyptus oil.
I love the sparse, stylish packaging and out of all the products, this is the one I loved the most. It leaves skin beautifully clean without being too harsh - a shame it's a special edition as I could see this becoming part of my regular routine!
Aldi has done it again and produced some great dupes that are brilliant for the price. Did you get your hands on any? Let me know.
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