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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned a supermarket was launching a recent product collection that looked comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her local store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

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

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a recently published poll.

Dupes are beauty items that copy well-known brands and present budget-friendly options to high-end products. They often have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue many substitutes to premium labels are good quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably more effective," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a program about famous people.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will do the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

But the experts also advise shoppers do their research and say that costlier products are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the label and promotion - at times the elevated price tag also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science utilized to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, she says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's important thinking about how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could contain bulking agents that don't have as significant advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

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

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends using more specialised brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the performance of the product, it requires research to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead use testing done by other brands, she clarifies.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

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