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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that looked comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her closest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

The smooth blue tube and gold lid of each creams look remarkably comparable. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and offer cost-effective options to premium products. They typically have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists say many substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget product line is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," says a podcast host, who runs a program with famous people.

A lot of of the products based on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers check details and state that costlier products are at times worthy of the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - often the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to create the product, and trials into the item's performance, she notes.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they might contain less effective components that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he added.

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these probably have been through comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to support it, "but the seller does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite evidence done by other brands, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any components that could signal a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up