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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a supermarket was offering a new skincare range that appeared akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of each items look noticeably alike. While Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy well-known labels and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain dupes to premium brands are reasonable standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable beauty label is bad - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a program featuring famous people.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When 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 quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the specialists also recommend buyers investigate and note that costlier products are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just covering the brand and advertising - sometimes the elevated cost also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and studies into the item's performance, she notes.

Facialist she says it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may include less effective components that don't have as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to medical-grade brands.

She states these typically have been through costly trials to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to verify it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up