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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a supermarket was selling a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her local outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of each items look noticeably alike. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate well-known companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals contend many dupes to premium brands are reasonable quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always better," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a podcast featuring public figures.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or something which is very affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also suggest buyers check details and say that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - at times the elevated cost also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the science used to develop the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Facialist she says it's worth thinking about how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could include bulking agents that lack as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott says sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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For potent products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests sticking to more specialised companies.

She says these probably have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it requires research to support it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by different brands, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up