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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a new beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold cap of the two creams look noticeably similar. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

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

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate well-known labels and present budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Skincare specialists contend some dupes to high-end brands are good quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is always more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable product line is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program about public figures.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "They will perform the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

However the professionals also suggest buyers investigate and state that more expensive items are sometimes worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - often the elevated price also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the product, and trials into the item's performance, she notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's worth considering how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they might contain filler ingredients that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to medical-grade companies.

The expert explains these typically have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires research to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead use evidence conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up