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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was selling a new beauty line that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of both creams look remarkably alike. Although she has never tried the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK consumers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate bigger name companies and provide budget-friendly options to luxury products. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare experts argue some substitutes to high-end brands are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably superior," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with famous people.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will perform the basics to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

However the experts also advise consumers do their research and state that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also is due to the formula and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to create the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she states they might have less effective components that lack as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott says in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting more specialised companies.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the seller doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively reference testing done by different firms, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up