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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer heard a supermarket was selling a new product collection that looked comparable to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her closest shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The smooth blue tube and gold top of the two items look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic established labels and provide budget-friendly options to luxury items. These products typically have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals contend some alternatives to luxury labels are good standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily superior," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a program about famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

However the specialists also advise consumers do their research and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - at times the elevated price also stems from the ingredients and their standard, the potency of the key component, the technology used to produce the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist another professional says it's important thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they might have filler ingredients that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

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For advanced items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends sticking to medical-grade companies.

The expert states these will likely have been through costly trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not always have to do the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by other brands, she says.

Examine the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the back of the container are ordered by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up