Everyone has their view on dupes and duping and those views are often scathing or on the opposite end of the spectrum, full of praise. Aldi has become well known for their own dupes - in recent times they have had dupes of Aussie Shampoo, NARS, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Liz Earle, Glamglow, YSL Touche Eclat, Jo Malone, Molton Brown, Beauty Blender and even Neom. But they are not alone, Primark and Revolution do the same thing too and again, for some people it is okay for one brand to do it but not another.
I am a huge fan of Aldi and have one at the end of the road where I work and often pop in during the week to do a food shop top-up and more importantly browse the Gin section because Aldi has some fabulous Gin! However, what caught my eye was the Lacura Daily Cleansing Glycolic Pads, something I had heard about on my social media feed but had never actually seen in my Aldi store.
The Lacura Daily Cleansing Glycolic Pads are a Nip + Fab dupe, there is absolutely no denying it. The packaging is similar to the point where I had to look twice to see which brand it was because if you look at the packaging then what you get are two plastic tubs featuring 60 Glycolic Acid Cleansing Pads with a similar shade of light blue and orange on the label. I am not a huge fan of Nip + Fab as a brand, I think they are overpriced for a highstreet brand especially when you can get better products for less money.
So, it is clear to see what the product is, what it does but there are a few differences and the first is that Aldi quite clearly displays the Leaping Bunny meaning they are Cruelty-Free, Nip + Fab do not have the bunny clearly displayed but do claim that they do not test their products on animals. Secondly, well we cannot ignore the price difference and Aldi Lacura Pads are priced at £2.49 and Nip + Fab costs £13.59 when they are not on an offer, so that is a huge £11.10p difference.
When it comes to descriptions they are both written very similarly, both brands state that their product is a Daily Cleansing Pad with the word 'Exfoliate' clearly visible. When it comes to the descriptions, Nip + Fab state that their pads are "Exfoliating Facial Pads to retexture + brighten skin" whereas Aldi Lacura state that their pads are "Exfoliating facial pads to improve skin texture and tone for a brighter & more radiant complexion". Both pads have one side which is textured and the other which is smooth, but the notable difference is that the Nip + Fab pads are just ever so slightly thicker than Aldi Lacura, but they are the same size and the same shape.
So this then takes us to the ingredients, perhaps the most important component of whether or no a product is any good. We have always been told that the higher up the ingredient list, the more of that particular one there is within a product, so this is what we have:
- Nip + Fab - Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Glycolic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Hydroxide, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Alcohol, Alcohol Denat. (SD Alcohol 40-B), Disodium EDTA, Globularia Alypum (Blue Daisy) Extract, Panthenol, Lactic Acid, Parfum, Limonene, Ethylhexylglycerin, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Linalool, Geraniol, Citral.
- Aldi Lacura - Aqua, Glycolic Acid, Glycerin, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Offiicinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus Lemon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Parfum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Hamamelis Virginiana Water, Panthenol, Polysorbate 20, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzoic Acid.
So as you can see there are a lot of similar ingredients used (in bold) but the order within which they have been used differs. Notably Nip + Fab use Lactic Acid whereas Aldi Lacura does not make any mention of it. Aldi Lacura makes no mention of the words Alcohol or Alcohol Denat. So you can make your own mind up from the two lists which one you prefer.
When it comes to using the pads, they feel exactly the same on the skin. As mentioned, one side is textured and the other is smooth and after using, my skin feels smooth but for me, at this stage, it is the Aldi pad that I prefer and that is because it feels slightly fresher on the skin with a little more liquid within the pad than Nip + Fab and my skin feels less tacky to the touch. When it comes to the scent, those who are familiar with Nip + Fab will know what I mean when I say Citrus scent, because that is exactly the fragrance they have thought it is a bit on the sweet side. With the Aldi Lacura version, I actually prefer the scent of these pads because whilst the main scent is Citrus from the Orange and Lemon, the use of Aloe tones it down a lot and the Witch Hazel isn't as strong.
If you have never tried a Glycolic Cleansing Pad and have an Aldi near you, then these are well worth the £2.49 that they cost, if anything they could charge double the price and they would still be an absolute bargain. For me, despite being the dupe, Aldi wins the war on texture, on effectiveness, on price, on fragrance, on how my skin feels after using and there is absolutely nothing I dislike. As far as I am concerned, they are much better than Nip + Fab which I am just not a fan of and cost five times less for what is something so similar yet so much better!
Have you tried any of the Aldi dupes?
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