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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that looked akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold cap of the two items look strikingly comparable. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published poll.

Dupes are beauty items that copy established companies and provide affordable alternatives to luxury products. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts argue some dupes to luxury brands are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is always better," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," says a podcast host, who hosts a show with celebrities.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

But the experts also advise consumers check details and say that costlier products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just covering the label and advertising - at times the elevated price also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the research employed to create the product, and studies into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they may include filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

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

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests sticking to more specialised labels.

She states these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to verify it, "however the seller does not always have to do the testing" and can alternatively cite testing completed by different companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is poor?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up