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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a fresh skincare range that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest store to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of both items look strikingly comparable. While she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, based on a February poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to high-end items. They often have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts say some dupes to luxury brands are decent quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably superior," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also suggest shoppers check details and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

With premium beauty products, you're not only covering the name and advertising - sometimes the higher cost also comes from the formula and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the product, and studies into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert she suggests it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they could have bulking agents that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert Scott admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be sold by the container," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting medical-grade companies.

She explains these will likely have been through comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to support it, "however the brand doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by other firms, she says.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Are there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up