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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer learned a discounter was selling a recent beauty line that seemed similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of both creams look remarkably alike. While she has not tested the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a February poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy well-known labels and present affordable substitutes to luxury products. They typically have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts argue many substitutes to high-end brands are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is always more effective," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes a podcast host, who hosts a program with public figures.

Many of the products based on high-end brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also suggest consumers check details and state that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - often the higher price also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the active ingredient, the research used to develop the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, she says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's important considering how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may contain filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he added.

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For potent items or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting more specialised brands.

She states these will likely have been through costly studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the label states about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference studies conducted by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the bottle are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up