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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a discounter was selling a new product collection that looked comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her closest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The streamlined blue tube and gold lid of the two items look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent study.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate well-known brands and offer budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products typically have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals say some alternatives to luxury brands are good standard and aid make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is invariably better," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who presents a show about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and note that more expensive items are at times worth the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to create the item, and studies into the item's performance, she explains.

Skin therapist another professional says it's worth questioning how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

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

"The big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises using more specialised brands.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to determine how successful they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead reference testing done by other firms, she adds.

Read the Back of the Pack

Is there any components that could indicate a product is poor?

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up