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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was launching a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of the two creams look strikingly alike. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and present affordable alternatives to high-end items. These products often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts argue many dupes to premium labels are reasonable standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably more effective," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is poor - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast about public figures.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

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

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also suggest consumers check details and note that costlier products are sometimes worth the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - often the elevated cost also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the research employed to create the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they might include bulking agents that lack as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends selecting medical-grade companies.

She says these typically have been through comprehensive studies to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it requires data to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use studies completed by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up