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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that seemed akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest store to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue tube and gold cap of both products look remarkably alike. While Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a February poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established labels and present budget-friendly options to high-end products. They typically have alike labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty professionals argue certain dupes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily more effective," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable skincare brand is poor - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "They will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

But the professionals also recommend consumers do their research and say that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

With high-end skincare, you're not just covering the name and promotion - at times the higher price tag also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science employed to develop the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional says it's worth considering how certain dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may include less effective components that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One key doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Expert Scott says sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a established label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these typically have been through costly tests to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs data to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to perform the trials" and can instead reference testing completed by other firms, she adds.

Check the Label of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by concentration. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up