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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out a supermarket was launching a recent skincare range that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each products look remarkably alike. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers report they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and present cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say certain alternatives to high-end brands are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a podcast host, who presents a program with famous people.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend consumers check details and note that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and promotion - sometimes the increased price tag also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may include bulking agents that lack as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to medical-grade labels.

She says these typically have been through costly studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the brand doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference studies completed by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could signal a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the tube are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up