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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a discounter was launching a new beauty line that appeared comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her nearest store to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of the two products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

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

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name brands and present budget-friendly options to luxury products. These products typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare professionals contend some substitutes to high-end labels are decent standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show featuring famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also advise buyers check details and say that costlier products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

With premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the technology used to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, the expert explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's important considering how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might have filler ingredients that do not provide as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests selecting more specialised companies.

The expert says these will likely have been through expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs data to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not always have to perform the trials" and can instead use testing completed by other brands, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up