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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a recent product collection that appeared similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her local outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of the two creams look remarkably similar. While Rachael has not used the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic established labels and provide affordable alternatives to high-end products. They often have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say many dupes to premium labels are decent quality and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably better," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a program with public figures.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is very low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the experts also advise consumers do their research and say that more expensive items are at times worthy of the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the label and promotion - often the increased cost also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research utilized to develop the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she notes.

Facialist she says it's worth considering how some alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they may contain bulking agents that don't have as many benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a established label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he warned.

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For potent products or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting research-backed labels.

She states these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

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

When the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs evidence to support it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference evidence completed by different companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Components on the list of the container are arranged by concentration. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up