We tried ALDI's new $14 custom skincare set to see if it's too good to be true.

German budget retailer ALDI is known for many things. Many cheap things, like discounted Dysons, cheap-as-chips workout tights and outdoor furniture sets, to name a few.

But we’re not here today to talk about all that. We’re here to talk about ALDI beauty.

Side note – here are seven simple tips to improve your skin while you’re snoozing! Post continues after video.

On any given day, beauty addicts and novices alike can be found scouring the shelves of their local ALDI for some of their great in-house skincare and makeup buys (here are 17 of the best ALDI beauty products we’ve found). But this weekend, they’ll be elbowing each other out the way to get their hands on the retailer’s brand new skincare range LACURA You.

LACURA You is an extension of ALDI’s already popular LACURA skincare range of serums, moisturisers and cleansers, but with a twist.

The range, which will be on sale as a part of the Saturday November 23rd Special Buys sale, includes custom ‘bases and boosters’ you can mix together to target specific skincare concerns like uneven skin tone, dull appearance, dry skin, wrinkles or loss of firmness. The prices are also ridiculously cheap – $5.99 for a moisturiser and $7.99 for the booster serums.

Like a lot of ALDI's beauty products, LACURA You resembles other custom skincare ranges from bigger beauty brands that've launched this year. But that doesn't automatically make this one a dupe. So, I got my hands on the full LACURA You range to find out.

Here's what you need to know about each product in the LACURA You skincare range, dropping in ALDI stores on Saturday November 23.

The LACURA You skincare range.

LACURA® You The Base Day Moisturiser, $5.99.

What the brand says: "This is a lightweight cream that provides intense hydration. Lightly fragranced, it is enriched with naturally derived ingredients such as argan oil – which helps prevent dryness – plus aloe vera leaf juice, which is known for its soothing properties. With the benefits of provitamin B5 for additional moisturising properties, your skin will be left deeply nourished and rejuvenated."

What it's like in real life: 

• Expect a thin, lightweight gel texture that absorbs into the skin quickly and is quite cooling.
• It has a strong baby powder-like fragrance.
• The highest concentration of ingredients are water and glycerin, but argan oil and aloe vera are still reasonably high in the list (which means there's a decent amount of those ingredients in the formula).

LACURA® You The Base Night Moisturiser, $5.99.

What the brand says: "Rich in texture, this moisturiser provides intense hydration whilst you sleep. It is enriched with naturally derived ingredients such as shea butter, argan oil and oat kernel extract, and has the additional benefits of provitamin B5. Your skin will be left feeling rejuvenated."

What it's like in real life: 

• Thick and rich in texture, but absorbs quickly.
• Has the same strong fragrance as the day moisturiser.
• The highest concentration of ingredients are water and glycerin, but shea butter, argan oil and oat kernel are listed towards the top end of the list.

LACURA® You Brightening (Vitamin C) Booster, $7.99.

What the brand says: "The Brightening Booster is enriched with concentrated Vitamin C which is known to help brighten skin tone. It supports collagen production which helps minimise the appearance of wrinkles. In addition, it contains Vitamin E which has antioxidant properties to help minimise skin imperfections."

What it's like in real life:

• This serum contains Tocopheryl Acetate, a form of Vitamin E, and Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, an oil-soluble, stable form of Vitamin C that's less irritating on the skin in high concentrations.
• The catch? Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate isn't as potent as L-Ascorbic Acid, which is in a lot of popular Vitamin C skincare products.
• This brightening serum comes out as a clear liquid and feels like a sticky-ish serum/oil to touch (keep in mind these boosters are to be mixed into the moisturiser, not applied to the skin on their own).

LACURA® You Correcting (Vitamin E) Booster, $7.99.

What the brand says: "The Correcting Booster is enriched with concentrated Vitamin E, which is known to help target skin imperfections caused by lifestyle factors including sun exposure and pollution. It contains antioxidant properties, which help to hydrate and smooth the skin."

What it's like in real life:

• The brand's Vitamin E serum only contains Tocopheryl Acetate, the same form of Vitamin E in the Brightening Booster.
• This is the thickest serum of the five and feels more like an oil than a serum.

LACURA® You Firming (Collagen) Booster, $7.99.

What the brand says: "The Firming Booster is enriched with collagen, which is known to help maintain your skin’s texture, firmness and natural collagen production process. In addition, it also helps to increase your skin’s hydration capacity, while reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles."

What it's like in real life:

• This 'collagen' serum contains Hydrolyzed Collagen, which means it's been broken down into smaller, easy-to-process particles, and Soluble Collagen, a larger collagen molecule.
• The catch? Both of these ingredients are listed after Glycerin and Water and followed by alcohols Benzyl Alcohol and Phenoxyethanol.
• It's also important to note topical collagen skincare products aren't always effective because the molecule is too large to penetrate the skin, especially the deeper layers of the skin.
• The serum has a light texture that's also fairly sticky.

LACURA® You Hydrating (Hylauronic Acid) Booster, $7.99.

What the brand says: "The Hydrating Booster is enriched with hyaluronic acid, which is known to give the skin immediate and long-lasting hydration, while improving the skin’s elasticity. This Booster contains a unique blend of moisturising ingredients that are highly concentrated to help seal in moisture, leaving your skin looking smoother and younger."

What it's like in real life:

• The brand's hyaluronic acid serum does contain Sodium Hyaluronate, a salt form of hyaluronic acid with a smaller molecular size so it can penetrate further into the skin.
• BUT Sodium Hyaluronate is listed fifth in the ingredients list, meaning there's less of it in the formula. This serum also contains Benzyl Alcohol and Phenoxyethanol.
• The product has a lovely silky, watery texture similar to other hyaluronic acid serums I've tried.

LACURA® You Wrinkle Reduction (Vitamin A) Booster, $7.99.

What the brand says: "The Wrinkle Reduction Booster is enriched with Vitamin A, which is known to target the signs of skin ageing, such as fine lines and wrinkles. In addition, it also contains a unique blend of ingredients that will help improve the skin’s texture for a smoother complexion."

What it's like in real life:

• The range's anti-ageing hero product contains Retinyl Palmitate, the least powerful but also the least irritating form of retinol (pure vitamin A) combined with the fatty acid palmitic acid.
• The catch? It's the fifth ingredient listed in a list of seven, with the product's main ingredient being Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E).
• This is the most interesting of the serums because it comes out a yellow colour instead of clear, and has a thick, oil-like consistency.

How to use LACURA You skincare.

The LACURA You products are designed to be used together by adding one drop of your chosen booster into a dollop of both the day and night moisturisers, which come in regular pots.

The booster pens work by clicking the end of the pen to dispense a drop of the product, but they don't 'click' like a normal pen product would. Plus, it's a bit random how and when product comes out.

Once you've added your drop of serum into the cream, mix the two together in your palms or on the back of your hand and slather on your face as normal.

Final verdict...

I haven't been using LACURA You long enough to definitively say whether it's any good or not. That, and considering we've all got different faces with different skincare needs, what works for one person won't work for everyone.

So, let's talk pros and cons.

Pros: The products are clearly labelled by skin concern so you can pick whichever booster suits your needs. The instructions for use are also really simple, although I couldn't help but wonder how just one drop of the serums would be enough to see results (???). None of the boosters have any fragrance and, oh yeah, and the price is very appealing.

Cons: I found the moisturisers to be quite fragranced, which doesn't bother me but it might bother you. The booster pens aren't as functional as they look, either. Probably the biggest downfall is the ingredients lists. Although every product contains some form of the active ingredient advertised, you need to do your own research into what is actually in the booster pens and how far down the ingredients lists they are.

At the end of the day, the products are a bit of gimmicky fun that might do something for your face, but also might just be nice moisturisers.

Which is exactly what you'd expect from a $14 skincare set, no?

Have you tried ALDI's LACURA You skincare range? Would you try it? Tell us what you think in the comments below!