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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that looked akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each creams look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a February survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy well-known labels and present cost-effective alternatives to high-end items. These products frequently have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists contend some alternatives to luxury labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always better," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget product line is inferior - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

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

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury brands "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

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

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers check details and note that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the label and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also comes from the formula and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the science used to produce the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, the expert explains.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how certain alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent products or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through costly tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the company advertises about the performance of the product, it needs data to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite evidence completed by other brands, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could indicate a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up