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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that looked comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each items look strikingly alike. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44% among younger adults, as per a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate well-known brands and provide budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products often have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts argue many dupes to high-end labels are good quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily more effective," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who presents a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury labels "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or something which is very low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the professionals also recommend consumers investigate and note that costlier items are at times worth the additional cost.

With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the name and marketing - at times the elevated price also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the key component, the research utilized to develop the item, and tests into the products' performance, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's important questioning how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they might include bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For advanced products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises sticking to more specialised labels.

She states these probably have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs research to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use evidence conducted by other brands, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up