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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a new beauty line that looked akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold lid of each creams look noticeably similar. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy established companies and offer affordable alternatives to premium items. These products often have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists contend some dupes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a show featuring celebrities.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

However the experts also suggest consumers check details and note that higher-priced products are at times worth the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just funding the label and advertising - often the elevated price also comes from the formula and their quality, the strength of the key component, the technology utilized to develop the item, and studies into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Facialist she says it's valuable considering how some dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might have filler ingredients that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises sticking to research-backed companies.

She says these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive studies to assess how effective they are.

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

If the company states about the performance of the product, it needs research to support it, "however the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite testing done by different brands, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Components on the list of the bottle are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up