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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a discounter was selling a recent skincare range that seemed comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her nearest store to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of both items look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and provide affordable options to high-end items. These products typically have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend some alternatives to premium brands are decent quality and assist make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all affordable product line is inferior - and not all premium skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program about celebrities.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will do the basics to a acceptable degree."

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

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also suggest consumers do their research and say that more expensive products are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - at times the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the research used to develop the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, she notes.

Facialist she says it's important considering how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could have less effective components that lack as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends using medical-grade labels.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to back it up, "but the brand doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively use testing done by different firms, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Container

Are there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up