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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was offering a recent beauty line that looked akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold top of the two products look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a February study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and provide budget-friendly substitutes to luxury products. They often have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals say certain dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

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

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the specialists also suggest buyers investigate and state that more expensive products are sometimes worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only funding the label and marketing - at times the increased price tag also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the effective element, the science used to produce the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's important considering how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may include bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One key uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests using research-backed labels.

The expert states these probably have been through expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing done by different brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up