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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a discounter was selling a new beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold lid of each items look noticeably similar. Although she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established companies and present affordable options to luxury products. They typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists argue certain dupes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is always superior," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget skincare brand is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about public figures.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the essentials to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

However the professionals also advise buyers investigate and note that costlier items are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just paying for the label and marketing - at times the increased cost also is due to the formula and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research used to produce the item, and trials into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Facialist she argues it's worth considering how certain dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they may include bulking agents that don't have as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to costly tests to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs data to support it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead cite evidence conducted by different brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up