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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a discounter was launching a fresh beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She rushed to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold cap of both creams look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and provide budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. They typically have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists say many dupes to luxury labels are good quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a program with celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he explains. "They will do the essentials to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or a product which is very affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the professionals also advise shoppers do their research and say that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only covering the brand and promotion - often the elevated price also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the research used to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, the expert notes.

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

Sometimes, she believes they may include less effective components that lack as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One major doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent 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 using research-backed companies.

The expert explains these will likely have been through expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs data to verify it, "however the brand does not always have to do the trials" and can instead cite evidence conducted by other brands, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any components that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up