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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of both creams look noticeably similar. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers report they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name brands and present affordable alternatives to luxury items. They frequently have similar labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals say certain alternatives to high-end brands are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is always superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring famous people.

Numerous of the products based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the specialists also recommend consumers check details and say that more expensive items are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the label and advertising - often the elevated cost also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to develop the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, she says.

Beauty expert she argues it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they may include filler ingredients that don't have as significant benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises selecting medical-grade brands.

The expert states these probably have been through comprehensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference testing done by different brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the tube are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up