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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned a discounter was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of both creams look remarkably similar. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent survey.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name companies and present affordable options to premium products. They frequently have similar labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Beauty experts argue many dupes to high-end brands are decent quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably superior," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," says a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast with celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory standard."

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

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

Yet the specialists also advise consumers check details and state that costlier items are at times worthy of the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - at times the increased price also comes from the formula and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the research employed to develop the item, and trials into the products' performance, she says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's worth questioning how certain dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could contain filler ingredients that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's bought beauty products that look similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he added.

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For more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she recommends using research-backed companies.

She explains these probably have been through expensive studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it must have research to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite testing completed by other brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up