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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was selling a new skincare range that seemed akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold cap of both creams look strikingly comparable. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic well-known brands and offer cost-effective alternatives to premium items. They often have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say many substitutes to high-end labels are good quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily superior," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every affordable beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program with celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

However the specialists also advise shoppers investigate and note that costlier products are sometimes worth the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the label and promotion - often the elevated cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to develop the item, and trials into the products' performance, she says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they may contain less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to more specialised labels.

She explains these typically have been through costly tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the performance of the item, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not always have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite testing completed by different brands, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the list of the tube are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up