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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a discounter was selling a fresh product collection that appeared akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her local shop to buy the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold lid of both items look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and provide affordable alternatives to premium items. They typically have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty experts contend certain dupes to premium brands are decent quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is always better," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program with famous people.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end labels "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also advise buyers check details and say that more expensive items are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only funding the name and promotion - sometimes the elevated cost also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the research utilized to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's valuable considering how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could include filler ingredients that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends using medical-grade labels.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label states about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to support it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite studies completed by different brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could indicate a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up