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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was selling a recent skincare range that appeared comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The smooth blue container and gold top of the two products look remarkably similar. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and offer budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals say some substitutes to premium labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is always better," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program featuring public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

But the specialists also recommend consumers investigate and state that costlier products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the brand and marketing - at times the elevated price also is due to the formula and their standard, the potency of the key component, the research employed to develop the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, she notes.

Beauty expert she says it's valuable considering how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could have less effective components that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead use studies done by different brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Bottle

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

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up