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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer heard a discounter was selling a fresh skincare range that appeared similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her local shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of both items look remarkably alike. While she has not tested the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy established brands and provide affordable options to high-end products. They often have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals contend some substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is always more effective," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast featuring famous people.

Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "run out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he says. "These items will handle the essentials to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers do their research and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - at times the increased price tag also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they may contain filler ingredients that lack as numerous benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using research-backed companies.

She says these will likely have been through expensive tests to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it needs data to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead use testing completed by different brands, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up