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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a new product collection that appeared comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two products look noticeably similar. Although she has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a February poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy well-known companies and present cost-effective alternatives to high-end items. They frequently have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue many substitutes to premium labels are good standard and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a show about celebrities.

Many of the products based on luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

However the specialists also recommend consumers investigate and say that costlier items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not just covering the label and advertising - sometimes the increased price also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research utilized to develop the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's valuable considering how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could include bulking agents that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he added.

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends sticking to more specialised companies.

She says these probably have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company states about the effectiveness of the item, it requires data to back it up, "but the brand does not always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by different firms, she clarifies.

Examine the Back of the Container

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

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up