Aldi are well known for their products inspired by other, often more expensive brands.
And one of their most popular dupes with more than 500 five star reviews relaunched on the website this Sunday, February 6.
The budget retailer’s Lacura Original Hot Cloth Cleanser is said to be a dupe for the award-winning Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - but it’s a fraction of the price.
On the Boots website, the No7-owned Lize Earle cleanser comes in at £27 for a 200ml bottle, whereas the Aldi version is only £3.99 for the same sized product.
Looking at the packaging, it’s easy to see why shoppers quickly spotted similarities between the two skincare saviours.
Firstly, the colours used are quite similar shades of blue, with a circular emblem placed on the lower half of the bottle, with the logo and product name placements being rather familiar.
Both cleansers come with a muslin cloth to remove makeup, and the only difference is that Liz Earle’s features green edging on the cloth.
One thing the Liz Earle range is renowned for is its unique fragrance, which comes from cocoa butter, rosemary extract, chamomile extract and eucalyptus essential oil.
It’s a really dreamy, spa-like scent and I wondered if Aldi would try and replicate it - and they have.
While the Lacura cleanser’s fragrance isn’t quite as strong, it’s definitely there with energising eucalyptus offering that medicinal menthol-like fragrance. Some people may prefer the weaker smelling cleanser, but for me, I really love the original Liz Earle scent.
I used Liz Earle’s product to remove makeup from half of my face, and the Aldi dupe to remove the other half, and both did a great job at gently taking off my makeup while the muslin cloths offered some exfoliation.
Both were gentle around my eye area and instantly melted away stubborn mascara without any stinging, too.
On the skin, the Liz Earle product felt more balmy like cocoa butter, whereas the Lacura cleanser was creamier - however both felt lovely and did the job.
Upon looking at the muslin cloths, it appeared that the Liz Earle cloth picked up more makeup as it looked more heavily saturated, but my face was clean and felt refreshed, with no irritation or redness occurring after use.
I really enjoyed using the Lacura Original Hot Cloth Cleanser, and it’s clear from the hundreds of glowing reviews that other shoppers have too.
And of course, I wasn’t the first to realise it was a dupe of Liz Earle, with one customer writing: “Liz Earle original Cleanse & Polish substitute. Good cream consistency, nice fresh smell. I actually prefer this to the LE C&P. Excellent value for money!”
Another added: “This cleanser is great and in the same league as Liz Earle which I used for many years. The quality of the muslin cloth is very good too. Glad I found it.”
“Great dupe,” a third wrote. “My fave cleanser ever - buy in bulk to ensure you don’t run out.”
The Aldi cleanser is a great budget option if you want something that feels and smells reminiscent of Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish, however, for me the OG Liz Earle cleanser is my favourite of the two for the feeling of luxury it offers. There’s a reason it’s earned over 130 awards and sells one cleanser every 15 seconds.
That said, if I was tight for cash one month, I’d definitely buy the Aldi dupe , and recommend it to friends and family.
