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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a discounter was launching a new beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her local shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of the two creams look strikingly similar. While she has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and provide budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products often have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say many substitutes to luxury labels are decent standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is always superior," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show about famous people.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will perform the basics to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also recommend shoppers investigate and say that costlier products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the name and promotion - often the increased cost also stems from the components and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the technology employed to produce the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she notes.

Skin therapist she argues it's important considering how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they could contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn notes in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

She says these probably have been through expensive studies to assess how effective they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it requires research to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference testing completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the back of the container are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up