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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a discounter was offering a new beauty line that seemed similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold lid of both products look remarkably alike. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy established labels and present affordable options to premium products. These products often have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Skincare specialists say some substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and help make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is always better," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all budget product line is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in using a budget alternative or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the specialists also suggest buyers do their research and state that more expensive products are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the label and promotion - often the higher cost also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to produce the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist another professional argues it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they could include filler ingredients that don't have as numerous benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn notes sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends selecting research-backed companies.

She explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Skincare products must be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead reference testing conducted by different brands, she says.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up