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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a supermarket was launching a fresh skincare range that appeared comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two products look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44% among younger adults, as per a February study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established brands and present affordable alternatives to luxury items. They often have similar labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say many dupes to high-end labels are decent standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably more effective," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with famous people.

A lot of of the items based on luxury labels "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also suggest buyers check details and note that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not only covering the brand and marketing - at times the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research used to develop the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could have less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends using more specialised brands.

She states these will likely have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label states about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead cite testing done by different firms, she says.

Examine the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up