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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a supermarket was offering a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of the two products look remarkably alike. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer cost-effective options to luxury items. These products frequently have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts say some substitutes to premium brands are reasonable standard and assist make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," notes a podcast host, who runs a podcast featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "These items will handle the basics to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers investigate and say that more expensive items are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - often the elevated cost also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the research used to create the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, she says.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they may include filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he added.

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For potent items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises using more specialised companies.

She states these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to support it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead cite studies conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up