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Rachael Parnell

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

She rushed to her local shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its sleek blue tube and gold top of the two products look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

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

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and present affordable substitutes to luxury items. These products typically have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare professionals argue many substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily more effective," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a show about famous people.

A lot of of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will do the basics to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the specialists also suggest consumers do their research and note that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - often the higher price tag also stems from the formula and their standard, the strength of the key component, the research used to create the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could have bulking agents that lack as significant benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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For potent products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises using research-backed brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive studies to determine how successful they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it requires research to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead reference studies conducted by different firms, she says.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Are there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up