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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a discounter was offering a new skincare range that seemed akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of the two creams look noticeably comparable. While she has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and offer affordable options to luxury items. They often have similar labels and design, but occasionally the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend many dupes to luxury labels are decent quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably superior," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast with public figures.

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

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable degree."

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

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also advise shoppers investigate and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - often the higher price also is due to the components and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the technology employed to create the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, the expert notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable questioning how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

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

"The major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the container," he added.

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For potent products or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using medical-grade brands.

The expert says these typically have been through costly studies to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it requires research to support it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively cite studies done by other firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up