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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was selling a recent beauty line that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest outlet to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold top of each products look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and present cost-effective options to high-end items. These products often have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue many substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always better," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program with famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

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

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers do their research and state that costlier products are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - often the increased price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the science utilized to develop the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, the expert explains.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's important considering how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they could have less effective components that lack as numerous benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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For advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the label states about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by different firms, she says.

Read the Label of the Pack

Is there any components that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up