Rachael Parnell
After discovering a consumer learned a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".
The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.
Its streamlined blue container and gold top of each creams look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.
Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.
Over a fourth of UK shoppers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a recent survey.
Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and present budget-friendly options to luxury products. They typically have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.
Victoria Woollaston
Beauty professionals say many dupes to luxury labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.
"It is not true that costlier is necessarily superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."
"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a show with celebrities.
Many of the items inspired by high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.
Scott McGlynn
Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.
"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a reasonable level."
A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.
"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.
However the specialists also recommend buyers investigate and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.
Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the name and promotion - sometimes the higher price also comes from the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science employed to produce the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains.
Facialist she argues it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.
Sometimes, she says they may contain bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.
"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.
Commentator McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".
"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.
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Regarding more complicated items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to research-backed brands.
She explains these typically have been subjected to costly tests to determine how successful they are.
Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.
When the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to verify it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different brands, she says.
Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?
Components on the back of the tube are listed by quantity. "The baddies that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up
