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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was selling a recent beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue tube and gold top of each creams look remarkably alike. And though Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK consumers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established labels and offer budget-friendly alternatives to luxury items. These products frequently have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty professionals say certain substitutes to luxury brands are decent standard and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast with celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the professionals also suggest shoppers check details and state that more expensive items are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the brand and marketing - sometimes the higher price also comes from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert another professional argues it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they could include bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The key question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

She says these will likely have been subjected to costly studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the company states about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead reference testing completed by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up