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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that appeared similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her closest outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of each products look noticeably similar. While she has not used the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among younger adults, based on a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and present budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty specialists argue many substitutes to premium brands are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably better," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program with public figures.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the essentials to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the experts also suggest buyers do their research and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and marketing - often the increased price also is due to the formula and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the technology utilized to produce the item, and trials into the item's performance, she notes.

Facialist another professional argues it's worth considering how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

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

"One key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises using more specialised companies.

She says these probably have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

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

When the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs data to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence completed by other companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up