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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that looked comparable to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two creams look remarkably similar. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic established labels and present affordable alternatives to luxury products. They typically have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare experts say many dupes to premium brands are reasonable quality and assist make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who presents a show about famous people.

Many of the products based on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

However the specialists also advise shoppers investigate and state that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With premium beauty products, you're not only funding the label and advertising - at times the higher price also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the science employed to create the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's valuable thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they might contain bulking agents that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The key doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Expert McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the container," he added.

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

The expert states these typically have been through costly studies to determine how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it needs research to verify it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use studies completed by different brands, she says.

Read the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the label of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up