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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that seemed akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her nearest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold top of the two creams look strikingly similar. While she has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and provide affordable alternatives to high-end items. They often have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty experts argue many substitutes to premium labels are reasonable standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a program featuring famous people.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the experts also advise shoppers check details and state that costlier products are sometimes worth the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not just funding the name and marketing - at times the higher cost also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the research employed to produce the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert says.

Skin therapist she says it's important questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she states they might include filler ingredients that lack as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

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

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

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For advanced products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises using research-backed brands.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it needs research to back it up, "but the brand doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead use evidence conducted by different brands, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a item is poor?

Components on the label of the bottle are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up