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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a new product collection that looked similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael hurried to her local outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold top of each creams look remarkably similar. While Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy established labels and offer affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products often have similar labels and design, but in some cases the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare experts contend certain alternatives to premium labels are good quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is invariably superior," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the professionals also suggest buyers check details and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - at times the increased price also is due to the formula and their standard, the strength of the key component, the research utilized to develop the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she states they could include less effective components that lack as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

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

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For potent items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she recommends sticking to medical-grade companies.

She states these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the effectiveness of the item, it must have research to back it up, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use studies done by other brands, she clarifies.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

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