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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a recent beauty line that looked similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of both creams look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and present budget-friendly options to luxury items. They typically have similar labels and design, but occasionally the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists say many dupes to premium brands are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily better," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a podcast host, who hosts a program about famous people.

Numerous of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will do the basics to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or a product which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the experts also recommend shoppers do their research and say that more expensive items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - at times the higher price also stems from the components and their standard, the potency of the key component, the research used to create the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's important questioning how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she says they may include bulking agents that lack as many advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist recommends using more specialised companies.

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

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

If the brand states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different firms, she says.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up