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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was selling a fresh skincare range that looked comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her local outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two products look noticeably similar. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a February poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and provide affordable options to high-end items. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals argue many alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably more effective," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is bad - and not all high-end skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who hosts a program featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the products based on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the professionals also advise buyers do their research and say that more expensive products are sometimes worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the label and promotion - sometimes the increased price tag also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the science employed to develop the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, she says.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could contain filler ingredients that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding advanced products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been through expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference testing completed by different companies, she adds.

Check the Label of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Components on the label of the tube are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up