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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a supermarket was selling a new product collection that looked similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael hurried to her closest store to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of each items look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer affordable options to high-end products. They often have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts argue many substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast about celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is very affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

But the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not just covering the name and advertising - sometimes the increased price also stems from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the science employed to develop the item, and studies into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Skin therapist another professional says it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could include bulking agents that don't have as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting more specialised companies.

She states these typically have been through expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to support it, "however the brand doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead use testing conducted by other brands, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is low-quality?

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