This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I freely admit that, years ago, I was one of those people who were a bit sniffy about Aldi. But boy have things changed since then – now a supermarket tour de force, Aldi has won many awards, the most recent being WHICH? Cheapest Supermarket for 2021. My personal fave are their coffee pods which taste excellent and are brilliant value.
Aldi is the short form for Albrecht Discounts, a family-owned chain which began life in 1913 as a small store in Essen, Germany. It now has over 10,000 stores in 20 countries.
The brand is well known for the fact that you can pop in for a loaf of bread and leave with one of the Aldi Specialbuys which arrive in store and online every Thursday and Sunday. Might be stylish homeware, DIY essentials, a hot tub or ski gear, but once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The reason I’m writing this article however, is because of their own-brand skincare and make up range Lacura which has had many 5* reviews. Aldi is renowned for its dupes – products that are a fraction of the price of other brands that use very similar ingredients. I have been using three of their cosmetic products (all are cruelty-free) and I’ve been impressed:
Too Legit mascara £5.99
Like many women, I’m very fussy about mascara. I have short sparse lashes and need to make the most of them!
I have been using Rumi (£24) for some time and I still love it, but Too Legit (£5.99) is very good too. I especially liked the brush (very similar to Benefit’s offering) which allows you to coat each and every lash with mascara, as well as adding curl, length and volume. A waterproof version is also available. More info
Snapshot Ready Illuminating Primer £5.99
Virtually identical to the Smashbox primer (£29.50). I don’t usually wear primer (my mistake as I didn’t realise how effective it was) but am enjoying this light formulation which includes vitamin A and E, grapeseed extract and green tea.
My make up, usually just concealer where I need it, goes on more smoothly and I feel a bit less wrinkly as it seems to blur away my finer lines and, an added bonus, the pores on my nose look less, well, porey. Buy now
Naturals Two Eyeshadow Palette £5.99
This is just one of several eyeshadow palettes that Aldi offer. The quality of the packaging and – more importantly of course, the product – makes you wonder why we ever pay through the nose for such items. My only slight reservation was that the 12 shades were on the shimmery side. However they are very easy to apply and blend, last the whole day and (the all-important) depth of pigment really comes up trumps. Superb value especially when you consider that the uncannily similar (!) Urban Decay’s palette will knock you back £46. Shop now
Annabel and I are also testing a few of Lacura’s skincare products at the moment – we will report back on those soon.
If you want to pay a fairer price for your make up, I recommend you check out Lacura…