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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was selling a new skincare range that seemed similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of the two products look noticeably similar. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. These products frequently have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals argue certain alternatives to premium brands are good standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think higher-priced is always superior," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not all affordable beauty label is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "They will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers do their research and say that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and promotion - often the higher price also comes from the components and their grade, the strength of the key component, the research employed to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist another professional argues it's worth considering how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they might have bulking agents that don't have as numerous advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One big doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests sticking to medical-grade companies.

She states these probably have been through expensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs data to support it, "but the seller doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite evidence conducted by different firms, she says.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up