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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a discounter was selling a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her local store to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml product.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold top of both items look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

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

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a February poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic established labels and present affordable substitutes to premium products. These products frequently have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say some alternatives to luxury brands are good quality and help make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with public figures.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and say that higher-priced products are at times worth the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just paying for the brand and promotion - at times the increased cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the technology employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they may have filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises sticking to research-backed brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the brand states about the performance of the product, it needs data to support it, "but the brand doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference testing completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Container

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

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up