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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of both items look noticeably comparable. While she has not used the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established companies and offer affordable substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare professionals contend some alternatives to luxury labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is always more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

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

Numerous of the items inspired by high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also advise buyers check details and say that more expensive items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only funding the label and promotion - sometimes the elevated cost also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the key component, the technology utilized to create the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could contain less effective components that lack as significant benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests selecting research-backed brands.

The expert says these probably have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the company states about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to back it up, "but the seller does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference testing completed by other brands, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up