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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a supermarket was offering a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of both items look noticeably alike. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and provide cost-effective options to luxury items. These products often have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain substitutes to premium labels are good quality and help make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is necessarily better," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show featuring public figures.

Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "They will perform the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is very affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the experts also suggest shoppers investigate and say that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just covering the name and promotion - often the increased price tag also stems from the ingredients and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the technology employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert explains.

Skin therapist she argues it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

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

"The key doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

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

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends using more specialised brands.

She explains these typically have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to support it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead reference evidence done by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by amount. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up