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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was selling a recent skincare range that appeared comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml product.

Its sleek blue container and gold lid of each creams look noticeably similar. While Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK buyers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known brands and provide budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. They often have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals argue some dupes to premium brands are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

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

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with celebrities.

Many of the items based on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the professionals also advise shoppers do their research and say that costlier products are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the name and promotion - often the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, the expert says.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's important considering how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may have bulking agents that don't have as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using research-backed brands.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to costly studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the effectiveness of the product, it must have research to support it, "however the brand doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence done by different companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Components on the label of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up