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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that seemed similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of each items look noticeably comparable. Although she has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic established labels and present cost-effective alternatives to premium items. These products typically have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend many alternatives to premium brands are decent quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is invariably superior," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

However the experts also advise buyers do their research and note that more expensive items are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just covering the label and marketing - often the elevated cost also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the technology utilized to create the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, she says.

Beauty expert she says it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could have bulking agents that don't have as many advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be sold by the container," he added.

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For advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises sticking to research-backed brands.

The expert says these typically have been through expensive studies to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference testing done by different brands, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is inferior?

Components on the list of the tube are listed by quantity. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up