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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a discounter was selling a fresh product collection that appeared akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her nearest outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of each creams look noticeably similar. Although she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a February survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and present cost-effective substitutes to high-end items. These products frequently have similar labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists argue many substitutes to luxury brands are decent quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is always better," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a reasonable standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the specialists also suggest consumers do their research and note that costlier products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - sometimes the higher price also comes from the components and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the science used to create the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, she notes.

Skin therapist she argues it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they may contain filler ingredients that don't have as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The big question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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For more complicated items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been through expensive studies to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items must be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to verify it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead use studies done by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the container are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up