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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was launching a fresh product collection that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue tube and gold top of both products look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established labels and provide budget-friendly alternatives to luxury products. These products often have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts contend certain alternatives to high-end labels are decent standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably more effective," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast featuring celebrities.

Many of the items based on luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

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

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

However the professionals also advise consumers check details and state that more expensive products are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just funding the label and advertising - often the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the key component, the technology used to develop the product, and trials into the products' performance, she explains.

Facialist another professional says it's important thinking about how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she states they might have less effective components that don't have as many advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with components that can irritate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can instead reference evidence conducted by different firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up