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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a discounter was offering a fresh skincare range that looked akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy bigger name brands and present affordable substitutes to luxury products. These products typically have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty experts contend certain dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is always better," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who presents a show featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the basics to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and note that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the label and marketing - at times the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they might contain bulking agents that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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For advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting medical-grade brands.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference studies completed by different brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up