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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her local shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue container and gold lid of both creams look strikingly alike. While Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a February survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and provide affordable substitutes to luxury products. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare experts contend many substitutes to high-end labels are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is invariably superior," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all affordable product line is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a program featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items based on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the experts also advise consumers investigate and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the label and advertising - often the higher price also comes from the formula and their standard, the potency of the key component, the science employed to create the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert she argues it's important considering how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they could include less effective components that lack as significant benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn notes sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to more specialised labels.

She says these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead use studies done by different brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a product is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up