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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out a discounter was offering a recent product collection that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two items look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established brands and provide cost-effective substitutes to luxury items. They often have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty professionals say certain alternatives to luxury brands are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily superior," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with celebrities.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "They will do the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is very low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

But the experts also suggest shoppers check details and state that costlier items are sometimes worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the label and advertising - at times the increased price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the technology used to produce the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's worth questioning how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they could include less effective components that don't have as many advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he added.

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For more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises using research-backed brands.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to verify it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively reference testing completed by different companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up