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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer found out a supermarket was offering a fresh beauty line that appeared akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of the two items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44% among younger adults, as per a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate bigger name companies and offer budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts contend some substitutes to premium labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable product line is poor - and not every premium skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with celebrities.

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also advise buyers check details and state that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the name and marketing - often the higher price also comes from the formula and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to create the product, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist another professional suggests it's important thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they might contain filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using medical-grade companies.

The expert says these typically have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have data to back it up, "however the seller does not always have to do the trials" and can instead cite testing conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up