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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that looked similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of the two products look remarkably comparable. And though she has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK consumers say they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and offer affordable alternatives to high-end products. These products typically have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals say some dupes to luxury brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is always more effective," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

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

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also suggest shoppers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the brand and promotion - often the elevated cost also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science used to produce the item, and trials into the item's effectiveness, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's important thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they may have filler ingredients that don't have as many positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests selecting medical-grade brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it requires evidence to support it, "however the brand does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite testing conducted by different firms, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up