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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a supermarket was selling a fresh product collection that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The smooth blue container and gold top of both creams look strikingly similar. Although she has not used the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and provide budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. They often have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty specialists argue many dupes to luxury brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every budget product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a podcast host, who hosts a podcast about celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just covering the name and advertising - sometimes the increased cost also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the science utilized to produce the product, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they could have bulking agents that do not provide as significant benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends sticking to research-backed labels.

The expert says these typically have been through costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

When the brand states about the effectiveness of the product, it must have research to support it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead reference studies done by different companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Bottle

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

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