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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was selling a fresh product collection that appeared comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold top of both items look noticeably alike. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

She 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 shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44% among younger adults, according to a recently published study.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic established labels and offer budget-friendly substitutes to luxury products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the components can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Better'

Skincare specialists say many substitutes to high-end labels are good quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program with celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a reasonable level."

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

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also suggest consumers investigate and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only covering the label and promotion - at times the elevated cost also stems from the components and their standard, the potency of the key component, the research employed to create the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could include bulking agents that do not provide as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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For potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting more specialised companies.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to costly tests to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it needs research to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to do the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by other brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up