Pixi glow tonic vs Lacura healthy glow glycolic toner: Can Aldi’s £2.99 dupe rival a cult classic?

Coming in a tall bottle complete with signature green Pixi label and lid, glow tonic offers liquid exfoliation, thanks to key active glycolic acid. This component makes up five per cent of the formula and is second on the ingredients list and is also joined by witch hazel and aloe vera to add gentle skincare elements. Meanwhile, glycerin is included too and is known for softening skin and holding moisture.

After opening the bottle, we smelt a fresh, delicate scent coming from ingredients such as ginseng root extract. What we like most though, is how easily the alcohol-free tonic fits into our skincare routine. Suitable for use in the morning and at night, we unscrewed the lid and swept the liquid across our skin with a reusable make-up remover pad after cleansing. It feels instantly refreshing on skin, and while our face tingled a little afterwards, we didn’t see irritation.

As our tester’s skin is sensitive, we didn’t tend to use it twice daily, instead opting for just once. Sometimes we even applied the glow tonic on alternative days, depending on how our skin was feeling. However, you could tweak your own usage depending on skin type. And as with all skincare containing acids, we’d recommend keeping topped up with SPF at it can increase sun sensitivity in general.

There’s a balancing effect we saw immediately after use, and we noticed a softness too, plus the residue left on our pad was pretty satisfying. For full transparency, we saw a bit of redness at first, but it did settle down. The brightening glow detailed in the product’s name became more obvious with extended use, and our tester appreciated a new-found tightness and brightness, which was the most obvious result.

We only used a tiny amount of the tonic at a time, so this generously sized 250ml bottle will last ages, offering value for money and making that £18 spend go even further.

Packaged in a similarly tall bottle and featuring a label attached to the upper top section listing glycolic acid as a main ingredient, we also noticed the orange-coloured toner matches Pixi’s. Additional components aloe vera and ginseng are highlighted on the 250ml bottle’s front too.

Once again, five per cent glycolic acid is second after aqua in the formulation and, after a quick scan of the full ingredients list, we did notice that aloe vera is further down the list, while glycerin holds a similar place in the formula line-up. Lacura’s glow glycolic toner is vegan-friendly too, which is good to know.

The lightly fresh scent is near identical to Pixi’s, although, if pushed, we’d say Lacura’s is probably slightly fainter. As Aldi dupes go, this offering has to be one of the closest in styles to its cult-classic inspiration.

We unscrewed the twist-off lid and dotted some liquid onto a make-up remover pad before swiping it over our face and décolleté. Our tester felt the toner to be cooling on skin, while noticing a bit of tingling too. Containing less aloe, the toner did feel a little harsher, but we think that’s to be expected. Recommended use is no more than twice daily, so, as with other acids, how often you apply it does depend on skin type.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and that balancing finish continued. We saw a subtle radiance, with it working well alongside our cleanser and moisturiser to help prep and prime skin ahead of make-up too. For less than £3, this is a budget toner bringing chemical exfoliating results.