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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was launching a new product collection that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of the two products look remarkably similar. And though she has not tested the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a February study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy well-known labels and provide affordable substitutes to premium items. These products typically have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals say many alternatives to high-end brands are reasonable quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily better," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast featuring celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and note that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only covering the label and marketing - at times the elevated cost also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science employed to produce the item, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Facialist she suggests it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they could have filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The big question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting medical-grade labels.

She explains these typically have been subjected to costly trials to determine how effective they are.

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

If the company states about the performance of the product, it requires research to back it up, "but the brand does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite evidence done by different companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up