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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that seemed similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of the two products look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and provide affordable options to luxury items. They typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the components can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals argue some alternatives to premium brands are decent standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is always more effective," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a podcast about celebrities.

Numerous of the products modeled on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

But the professionals also advise consumers check details and say that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just covering the label and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also stems from the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, the expert says.

Facialist she argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

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

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott notes in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting research-backed brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the company states about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively reference studies done by different companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are arranged by quantity. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up