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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a discounter was launching a recent beauty line that looked akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She rushed to her local store to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of each creams look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and offer cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They frequently have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists contend many substitutes to luxury brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring celebrities.

Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

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 buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also recommend shoppers check details and state that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only covering the label and marketing - sometimes the increased price tag also comes from the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to produce the product, and tests into the products' performance, the expert notes.

Facialist she argues it's important considering how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may have filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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Regarding advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting more specialised companies.

The expert explains these typically have been through expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by other firms, she adds.

Check the Back of the Bottle

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

Components on the list of the tube are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up