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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a discounter was offering a new product collection that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

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

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two products look noticeably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a February study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established brands and provide cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. They typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists say some substitutes to luxury labels are reasonable quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is invariably better," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast about celebrities.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

However the experts also recommend buyers do their research and note that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the label and marketing - at times the increased price also comes from the components and their grade, the strength of the key component, the technology employed to develop the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's important questioning how some alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could contain filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a established label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends sticking to more specialised labels.

She explains these will likely have been through costly studies to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the seller does not always have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite evidence completed by other firms, she adds.

Examine the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up