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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was selling a new beauty line that appeared comparable to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of each products look noticeably comparable. While she has not used the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been using lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic bigger name brands and offer budget-friendly options to premium items. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say certain substitutes to premium labels are decent quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is always better," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget beauty label is inferior - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says a podcast host, who runs a program with public figures.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the experts also recommend consumers investigate and note that more expensive items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - often the increased cost also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to create the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, she says.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she states they could contain bulking agents that don't have as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he warned.

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises selecting research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through costly trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite studies conducted by different brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Components on the label of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up