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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a supermarket was offering a new skincare range that looked similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of each items look remarkably alike. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a February study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and offer affordable alternatives to high-end items. They frequently have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Skincare specialists contend some dupes to high-end brands are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily superior," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every affordable product line is inferior - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast featuring celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and say that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not just funding the brand and advertising - sometimes the increased price tag also is due to the formula and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's important considering how certain dupes can be offered so cheaply.

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

"One big question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using medical-grade brands.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs data to support it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing completed by other firms, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up