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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a discounter was selling a new skincare range that looked similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue container and gold cap of the two items look strikingly alike. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK consumers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and provide budget-friendly options to premium products. They typically have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend some dupes to luxury brands are decent standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably better," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a program featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

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

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers investigate and state that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the brand and marketing - sometimes the increased price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the technology utilized to create the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

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

"The key uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

"Do not be sold by the container," he warned.

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For advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting research-backed labels.

The expert explains these probably have been through costly tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Components on the list of the container are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up