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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a supermarket was offering a fresh beauty line that appeared similar to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each items look remarkably alike. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known labels and offer affordable substitutes to luxury items. They often have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists contend some alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and assist make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably better," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a program about public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury brands "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will do the basics to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also recommend shoppers do their research and say that costlier products are at times worth the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the brand and marketing - at times the increased price also is due to the formula and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the science used to create the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they could have bulking agents that don't have as many advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For potent items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert says these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company advertises about the performance of the product, it must have data to verify it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite studies done by different companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up