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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was launching a fresh skincare range that seemed similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her local store to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold top of both products look noticeably alike. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy well-known labels and provide affordable substitutes to premium items. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty experts contend some substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always superior," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "They will handle the basics to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and note that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - often the increased cost also is due to the formula and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they may include filler ingredients that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The key uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist recommends selecting medical-grade labels.

She says these will likely have been through comprehensive studies to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead use studies done by other firms, she adds.

Read the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up