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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a recent beauty line that looked similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold cap of each items look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name companies and offer affordable alternatives to high-end items. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare specialists argue many dupes to luxury labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is invariably more effective," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also suggest shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the label and marketing - at times the higher price also stems from the components and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert she suggests it's worth considering how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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For advanced products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends using medical-grade companies.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive studies to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the label states about the efficacy of the item, it needs research to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the trials" and can instead cite evidence completed by other companies, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up