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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was selling a new skincare range that seemed similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml product.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of each creams look strikingly similar. While she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, according to a February poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known brands and offer affordable alternatives to high-end products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists contend many dupes to luxury brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably better," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every affordable skincare brand is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," says a skincare commentator, who runs a show with public figures.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the professionals also advise buyers investigate and state that costlier products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the name and promotion - at times the higher price also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the research employed to create the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, she explains.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they might contain filler ingredients that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a well-known label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises selecting medical-grade labels.

She states these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label states about the performance of the item, it needs data to support it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use studies completed by different brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Container

Is there any components that could signal a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the tube are listed by concentration. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up