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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a new product collection that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest store to purchase the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of both items look remarkably alike. Although she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent survey.

Dupes are beauty items that copy bigger name labels and present affordable options to luxury items. These products frequently have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists say many alternatives to high-end brands are decent standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," notes a podcast host, who runs a podcast with celebrities.

Numerous of the products modeled on high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "They will do the essentials to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the professionals also suggest shoppers do their research and say that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the name and advertising - often the increased price also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the science used to create the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist she suggests it's worth questioning how certain dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may contain less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises selecting medical-grade brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires research to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up