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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a supermarket was offering a recent skincare range that appeared akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her local shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each items look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic established brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to luxury products. These products frequently have similar labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts argue certain substitutes to luxury brands are good quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily more effective," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program with celebrities.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a acceptable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the professionals also recommend consumers check details and say that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only covering the name and marketing - sometimes the increased cost also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science used to create the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist she suggests it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they could include less effective components that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The big question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Commentator Scott notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he added.

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert says these typically have been subjected to costly trials to determine how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the performance of the item, it must have research to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference testing completed by other firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up