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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

The smooth blue container and gold lid of each creams look remarkably similar. While she has not used the luxury cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44% among younger adults, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and present affordable alternatives to high-end items. These products frequently have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts say some substitutes to luxury brands are decent standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily better," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

But the experts also recommend buyers investigate and state that costlier products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just covering the label and advertising - often the elevated price tag also is due to the formula and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they may have filler ingredients that do not provide as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive studies to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to back it up, "however the seller doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference studies completed by other firms, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

Is there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Components on the list of the container are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up