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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a supermarket was offering a recent product collection that appeared akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her local outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two products look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recently published study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. These products frequently have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals say many dupes to high-end labels are decent standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is always better," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every affordable product line is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a program with famous people.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

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

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

However the professionals also advise shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only covering the name and promotion - at times the increased price also is due to the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research utilized to produce the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, the expert notes.

Facialist she argues it's worth questioning how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they could include less effective components that lack as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he warned.

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Regarding advanced products or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises selecting medical-grade companies.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to verify it, "but the seller doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can instead use studies completed by other firms, she says.

Check the Label of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up