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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer learned a supermarket was offering a new beauty line that appeared comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael dashed to her local outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its smooth blue tube and gold cap of each items look remarkably alike. And though she has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recently published poll.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic established brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to high-end items. These products often have similar labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say certain dupes to premium labels are good quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always better," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a program about public figures.

Many of the items based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

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

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the specialists also advise buyers investigate and say that more expensive items are at times worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only funding the label and advertising - at times the elevated price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research used to develop the product, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman argues it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they might have filler ingredients that do not provide as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

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

Commentator McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises using research-backed companies.

The expert explains these will likely have been through costly tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the brand states about the effectiveness of the product, it requires data to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by different companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

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

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