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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was offering a recent skincare range that seemed similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her local store to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold top of each items look strikingly comparable. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and offer budget-friendly alternatives to premium products. They frequently have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty professionals say certain dupes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is always superior," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," notes a podcast host, who presents a program about celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the experts also advise shoppers investigate and say that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the extra money.

With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the label and advertising - at times the increased price tag also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the research used to develop the item, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they could have filler ingredients that do not provide as many advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends using medical-grade labels.

The expert states these will likely have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it needs data to verify it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference studies completed by other brands, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

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