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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a discounter was launching a new product collection that seemed similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The smooth blue container and gold top of both items look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a February poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic bigger name brands and present affordable alternatives to high-end items. They often have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend many substitutes to premium brands are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably superior," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a show with celebrities.

Many of the products modeled on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products 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 a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the professionals also advise shoppers check details and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not only covering the label and promotion - sometimes the increased price tag also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the science employed to create the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, she says.

Facialist she says it's important questioning how certain dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she states they might include filler ingredients that do not provide as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One major doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert states these typically have been through costly trials to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it requires research to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead use evidence conducted by different companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?

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