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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a new product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue container and gold top of the two items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established brands and provide budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. They typically have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend some alternatives to luxury labels are reasonable quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

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

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

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

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the experts also suggest shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - sometimes the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the key component, the research used to produce the product, and tests into the products' performance, she says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they might include bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established label but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting research-backed labels.

The expert says these typically have been subjected to costly studies to determine how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead cite studies done by different firms, she says.

Check the Label of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the back of the container are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up