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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a discounter was offering a recent product collection that appeared akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold top of both items look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known brands and offer cost-effective options to luxury products. They often have similar labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts say some substitutes to luxury labels are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily superior," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," says a skincare commentator, who presents a program about famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also recommend buyers do their research and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the brand and advertising - at times the increased cost also stems from the components and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology employed to develop the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, she says.

Facialist she suggests it's valuable considering how some alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she believes they may include less effective components that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The major uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator Scott notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established label but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting research-backed labels.

The expert explains these probably have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs research to support it, "but the seller does not always have to do the trials" and can alternatively use testing completed by different companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any components that could suggest a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up