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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that seemed similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold lid of the two creams look strikingly similar. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to luxury products. They typically have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue some alternatives to luxury labels are decent quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably more effective," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really amazing," says a podcast host, who hosts a program about famous people.

Many of the products based on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will do the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

However the professionals also suggest shoppers investigate and state that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - sometimes the higher cost also stems from the formula and their quality, the potency of the key component, the research employed to create the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional says it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they could have filler ingredients that lack as numerous 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.

Commentator McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to back it up, "but the brand doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead use testing completed by different companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is inferior?

Components on the list of the tube are listed by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up