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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a discounter was launching a fresh product collection that looked comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her local store to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The sleek blue packaging and gold top of the two products look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK buyers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate well-known brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to luxury products. They often have similar labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists contend certain dupes to high-end brands are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably superior," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast featuring famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also advise shoppers investigate and note that costlier items are at times worthy of the premium price.

With premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the label and advertising - often the increased price tag also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the technology utilized to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert says.

Facialist another professional argues it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could have bulking agents that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests using research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through comprehensive tests to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to support it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by different firms, she clarifies.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the container are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up