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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was launching a fresh product collection that appeared akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her local store to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of each items look remarkably alike. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a fourth of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic established brands and provide cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue many substitutes to high-end brands are decent standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always better," states skin specialist one expert. "Not all budget beauty label is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a show with famous people.

Many of the items based on luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the experts also advise shoppers check details and note that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and advertising - sometimes the elevated price also stems from the formula and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the research used to create the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, the expert says.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they may include bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises selecting research-backed labels.

She says these typically have been through expensive trials to assess how successful they are.

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

If the brand states about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to verify it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite testing completed by different firms, she clarifies.

Examine the Back of the Pack

Are there any components that could signal a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up