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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a discounter was launching a fresh product collection that looked akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her local outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold top of both products look noticeably alike. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate well-known companies and offer cost-effective options to high-end items. These products typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare experts argue some dupes to premium brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily more effective," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with celebrities.

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

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

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and say that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just paying for the label and promotion - often the increased price tag also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the key component, the science used to develop the product, and tests into the item's performance, the expert notes.

Skin therapist she says it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they might include less effective components that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

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

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert states these will likely have been through expensive tests to determine how successful they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the label states about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to support it, "but the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference studies done by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up