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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was offering a new product collection that appeared similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest outlet to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of each creams look remarkably comparable. Although she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name labels and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts say some substitutes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably better," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast about famous people.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he says. "They will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the specialists also recommend buyers check details and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only covering the label and marketing - sometimes the increased price tag also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to create the item, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable considering how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she states they might include filler ingredients that don't have as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting more specialised companies.

She explains these probably have been through comprehensive tests to assess how successful they are.

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

If the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead reference evidence completed by different brands, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

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