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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was offering a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold top of both items look strikingly alike. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK consumers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44% among younger adults, as per a February study.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established brands and provide budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. These products often have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts contend certain alternatives to luxury brands are decent quality and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," says a podcast host, who presents a program featuring public figures.

Many of the products modeled on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will do the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the experts also advise shoppers investigate and note that costlier products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - sometimes the increased price also comes from the formula and their standard, the potency of the key component, the technology used to create the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's valuable considering how some dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they may contain bulking agents that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert Scott notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For potent items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting medical-grade companies.

The expert says these typically have been through expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to verify it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite studies conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up