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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer learned a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of both products look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK consumers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recent survey.

Dupes are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and present affordable options to luxury products. They typically have similar labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts say many substitutes to high-end labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably better," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every budget product line is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast with public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

Yet the specialists also suggest consumers do their research and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only funding the label and advertising - often the elevated price also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science employed to produce the item, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they could include less effective components that don't have as numerous advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn says in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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For advanced products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises sticking to more specialised brands.

She explains these typically have been through expensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs data to back it up, "however the brand doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by other brands, she adds.

Read the Label of the Pack

Is there any components that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up