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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a discounter was launching a new beauty line that looked akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of each products look remarkably comparable. Although she has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy well-known companies and offer budget-friendly alternatives to luxury products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare professionals say some alternatives to high-end labels are good standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a podcast host, who hosts a show with public figures.

Many of the products inspired by high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "They will perform the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

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

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the experts also advise consumers check details and say that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just covering the label and advertising - often the elevated price tag also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the technology employed to produce the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, she explains.

Skin therapist another professional says it's valuable thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they could include bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a well-known brand but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises using research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive studies to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence done by different firms, she says.

Examine the Back of the Container

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

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