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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a discounter was offering a new skincare range that seemed akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her nearest shop to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of both items look noticeably alike. Although she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February poll.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say certain substitutes to premium labels are reasonable standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is always better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a show with celebrities.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "They will do the basics to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the professionals also advise buyers check details and state that higher-priced products are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only funding the name and promotion - often the increased price also stems from the formula and their grade, the potency of the key component, the research employed to create the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, she explains.

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

Sometimes, she believes they may have less effective components that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One big uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting more specialised companies.

The expert says these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the label states about the performance of the product, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead use studies completed by different companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is inferior?

Components on the label of the container are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up