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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was offering a recent product collection that looked comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of both items look remarkably comparable. Although Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and present affordable alternatives to high-end products. They frequently have similar labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals contend many alternatives to premium brands are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not all premium skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast about public figures.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end labels "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he says. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also suggest buyers do their research and say that costlier products are sometimes worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and advertising - at times the higher cost also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

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

Occasionally, she believes they could contain filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator Scott says in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the original".

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

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For more complicated items or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

She says these typically have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the item, it needs data to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use studies completed by different companies, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up