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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a supermarket was offering a fresh product collection that appeared comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its sleek blue container and gold top of the two products look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44% among younger adults, as per a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that copy established companies and present cost-effective options to premium items. These products frequently have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty professionals argue many substitutes to premium brands are reasonable quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably better," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget skincare brand is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show with celebrities.

Many of the products modeled on luxury brands "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is very low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also suggest buyers check details and say that costlier products are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - at times the higher price also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and tests into the products' performance, she explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's important questioning how certain dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they might have bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests using research-backed labels.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare products must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite testing completed by different companies, she adds.

Check the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up