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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was launching a fresh beauty line that looked comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold cap of each items look strikingly similar. While she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a recently published poll.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate well-known labels and offer affordable substitutes to high-end products. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists contend some alternatives to premium brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is always better," states skin specialist one expert. "Not every affordable skincare brand is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a show about famous people.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the experts also suggest consumers check details and state that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just covering the name and advertising - at times the higher price also comes from the formula and their quality, the potency of the key component, the science used to develop the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, the expert says.

Facialist she suggests it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they could include filler ingredients that do not provide as many benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he cautioned.

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For advanced items or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she recommends selecting medical-grade labels.

She explains these typically have been through expensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the brand states about the effectiveness of the item, it must have research to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to perform the trials" and can instead cite evidence done by other brands, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up