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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned a supermarket was offering a fresh product collection that seemed similar to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of the two creams look noticeably similar. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate established labels and present budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products often have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say many dupes to premium labels are good standard and assist make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably better," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every affordable product line is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program featuring celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the experts also suggest shoppers investigate and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the name and advertising - often the elevated price also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the key component, the science used to develop the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, she says.

Skin therapist she says it's valuable thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they might include filler ingredients that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the item has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he added.

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to research-backed companies.

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

Skincare products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the company states about the effectiveness of the product, it requires research to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use testing done by different firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could suggest a product is poor?

Components on the label of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up