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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a discounter was offering a recent beauty line that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The smooth blue container and gold cap of both products look noticeably alike. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic established labels and offer cost-effective alternatives to premium items. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Beauty experts say many dupes to high-end labels are good quality and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably superior," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about public figures.

Many of the products based on high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

However the professionals also advise shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are at times worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the name and advertising - often the elevated price also is due to the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the technology used to create the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist she suggests it's worth questioning how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they may have filler ingredients that don't have as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises selecting medical-grade companies.

She says these probably have been subjected to costly trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the label states about the efficacy of the product, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the seller does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference testing done by other brands, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is poor?

Components on the list of the container are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up