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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was launching a recent product collection that looked similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her local shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two products look remarkably comparable. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established labels and offer affordable alternatives to luxury products. They often have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals contend some alternatives to premium brands are good standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget product line is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a podcast host, who presents a show about celebrities.

Many of the products inspired by high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is very affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also suggest buyers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also stems from the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the science utilized to produce the item, and trials into the item's performance, the expert says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could contain less effective components that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a established brand but the item has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding potent products or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting more specialised companies.

She says these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs research to verify it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by different companies, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is inferior?

Components on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up