Sold De Janeiro is everywhere over my Instagram feed these days. Whilst I like some of the brand’s products I do think they are rather over hyped and pricey for what they are. Aldi seem to be at it every week at the moment, bringing us affordable products inspired by some big name brands. Some say they’re being a bit cheeky, and I can totally see why smaller brands would feel disappointed if Aldi were to release an alternative for their product, but equally I can’t help but feel that it makes theoretically similar products previously inaccessible for some due to their high price tag, somewhat more attainable.
Let’s jump into whether or not these affordable alternatives, or dupes, are any good.
Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum Cream - RRP £48 for 240ml & Scrub - RRP £39 for 220g
I think the cream is expensive for what it is and even though it’s nice I would never buy this product. I much prefer their Bom Dia Bright scent. I haven’t tried the original scrub and doubt I ever will purely down to cost.
Lacura Summer Touch Booty Balm - RRP £4.99 for 250ml
First up, the name has me in stitches. I queued up at the tills in Aldi with only this on the conveyor and got some strange looks from the man ahead of me! The product is infinitely more affordable than the SDJ price tag and you get more product in the tub.
Appearance & Texture - Both creams look identical. They are both a warm, light creamy colour. Both have a lightweight, non sticky texture that melts into the skin easily when rubbed in. Both products require equal amounts of effort to rub them in, neither is more streaky than the other. If anything the SDJ is slightly less tacky when initially rubbed in but any minor stickiness the Lacura product isn’t really worth noticing as it vanishes so quickly. If I’d been given these in two blind pots to identify the high end product based on looks and texture alone I would have struggled.
Scent - When I first sniff tested these products one after the other I didn’t think they smelt the same at first. The Lacura product had much more of a popcorn end note to it which I didn’t really like. After leaving both products on my skin to settle for 5 minutes I then couldn’t tell the difference. Any traces of popcorn were long gone. To paint the full picture of this sniff test I was there sniffing one forearm, pausing, then the next for several minutes to try and see if I could pick up any discernible differences. If you can get past 5 minutes of popcorn vibes you’re winning.
Longevity - Unsurprisingly the branded luxury product has a longer lasting scent overall. About 2 hours after application I was complimented on the scent of the Summer Touch Booty Balm. I find it hard to tell if a scent is still noticeable as I swear I grow so used to it through the day that I go nose blind.
Treacle Moon The Brazilian Love Scrub - RRP £2.65 for 225ml
This is lovely. The product has a creamy texture with a tangible amount of scrub that isn’t aggressive or so subtle that you can’t notice it. The scent is there, and it certainly smells almost identical to the Sol De Janeiro product. I’ve been really enjoying this and I’m very impressed with it, especially considering it is under £3. I bought my tube from Waitrose. I’m definitely interested in trying more of this brand’s scrubs now!
The Final Word
Would I rebuy the Lacura product? Quite possibly. I like this, but I just don’t love the original Bum Bum scent, I find it almost a bit sickly. If you’re a huge lover of the original Bum Bum cream and happy to get through the very short popcorn scent stage I’d recommend giving this a go. It’s nicely moisturising and I’m so impressed with it considering its price tag. Aldi have done a very good job with this product. If they ever decide to release a Bom Dia Bright alternative, I dread to think what it would be called, you can guarantee I’ll be there at the crack of dawn on release day. As for the Treacle Moon Scrub, it feels lovely and is wonderfully priced, so yes I would grab this again.
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