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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a supermarket was selling a recent beauty line that looked akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest store to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of the two creams look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established brands and provide affordable options to luxury items. They often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts contend many alternatives to luxury brands are reasonable quality and help make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring public figures.

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury brands "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a dupe or a product which is very affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the professionals also advise consumers do their research and note that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just funding the name and promotion - often the increased cost also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science employed to produce the product, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they could contain less effective components that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to medical-grade labels.

The expert states these will likely have been through costly trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, says expert another professional.

If the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the seller does not always have to do the testing" and can instead cite testing done by other companies, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by quantity. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up