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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a supermarket was selling a new beauty line that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest store to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of both creams look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent poll.

Dupes are beauty items that copy well-known brands and present affordable options to luxury products. They frequently have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists argue certain alternatives to premium labels are decent standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily better," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every affordable product line is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

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

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "They will handle the basics to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also recommend buyers do their research and state that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the brand and marketing - at times the increased price also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the research employed to create the product, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they may contain less effective components that don't have as significant benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding potent products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests using medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these probably have been through comprehensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the company makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs research to back it up, "but the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can instead use studies completed by other firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up