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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold top of both items look noticeably alike. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic established companies and offer affordable options to premium products. They typically have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals say many alternatives to high-end brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a program with public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers check details and say that more expensive items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - often the increased price tag also comes from the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to develop the item, and trials into the item's efficacy, she says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they could have bulking agents that don't have as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he added.

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Regarding potent products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting research-backed labels.

The expert explains these will likely have been through comprehensive tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs data to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively use studies done by different brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up