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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a supermarket was selling a new product collection that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of both items look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

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

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy bigger name brands and offer budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products typically have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals argue certain substitutes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always more effective," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a podcast host, who runs a show about celebrities.

Many of the products modeled on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the professionals also recommend consumers do their research and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - at times the higher price also is due to the formula and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert explains.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's important questioning how some alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they may include filler ingredients that do not provide as many positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

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

Commentator Scott notes sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a well-known brand but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For more complicated items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to medical-grade companies.

The expert explains these probably have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare items must be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead use studies conducted by other brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any components that could indicate a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up