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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was launching a new skincare range that seemed akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest shop to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue container and gold cap of the two items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been using lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established labels and present affordable substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts say many dupes to luxury brands are reasonable quality and help make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

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

Numerous of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the professionals also suggest consumers do their research and state that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just covering the label and promotion - often the increased price tag also stems from the formula and their grade, the strength of the key component, the science used to produce the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she notes.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could have filler ingredients that lack as significant benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the container," he warned.

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert states these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead cite studies done by different firms, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

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