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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned a discounter was selling a new skincare range that appeared similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of the two creams look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic bigger name companies and provide budget-friendly options to luxury products. These products often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty professionals contend many dupes to luxury labels are decent quality and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who hosts a podcast about public figures.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional believes alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "They will perform the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

However the experts also advise consumers check details and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the brand and promotion - sometimes the elevated price also stems from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology used to create the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist she suggests it's important questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they may include bulking agents that lack as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises sticking to medical-grade labels.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to support it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence done by other brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Container

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

Components on the label of the container are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up