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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was offering a recent product collection that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue packaging and gold cap of the two creams look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has not used the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recently published poll.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic established companies and present budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts argue some alternatives to luxury brands are decent quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a program with public figures.

Many of the products based on luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will perform the basics to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers do their research and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - at times the higher price also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the science employed to create the product, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they may have less effective components that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One key uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises using more specialised companies.

She says these typically have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference testing completed by different companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Container

Are there any components that could suggest a item is poor?

Components on the back of the tube are listed by amount. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up