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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was selling a new product collection that seemed comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of both creams look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate well-known companies and provide budget-friendly options to premium items. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts contend certain dupes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily better," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about celebrities.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end labels "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will handle the basics to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also recommend buyers check details and say that higher-priced items are at times worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the label and promotion - sometimes the increased price also is due to the components and their quality, the strength of the key component, the technology employed to create the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Beauty expert she says it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they may include bulking agents that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For potent items or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

The expert says these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead reference evidence done by other companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up