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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was selling a fresh product collection that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of each items look remarkably alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name labels and offer affordable options to luxury items. These products typically have alike labels and design, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals contend many substitutes to luxury labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast about famous people.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be alright in using a lookalike or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

However the specialists also suggest shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - sometimes the higher price tag also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they could contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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For advanced items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises sticking to research-backed brands.

She states these typically have been subjected to costly trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the performance of the product, it must have data to verify it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference testing completed by different brands, she says.

Check the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

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