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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that looked comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her closest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of the two products look strikingly alike. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a February study.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and present affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Better'

Skincare specialists contend many alternatives to high-end labels are decent standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily more effective," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," notes a podcast host, who presents a podcast with famous people.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

But the professionals also advise consumers investigate and state that more expensive products are at times worthy of the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - at times the increased price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science employed to produce the item, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist she argues it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they could include bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One big uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests using more specialised labels.

She states these probably have been through costly studies to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the efficacy of the item, it must have data to support it, "however the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence completed by different brands, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up