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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned a supermarket was selling a recent product collection that appeared comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her local shop to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold cap of each products look remarkably alike. While she has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent survey.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name brands and offer affordable alternatives to high-end items. These products often have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts argue some substitutes to high-end labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is invariably more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a show about public figures.

Many of the items based on luxury labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or something which is quite affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the experts also recommend consumers investigate and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just covering the name and marketing - sometimes the higher price tag also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research utilized to produce the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert she argues it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they may include filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

She states these probably have been through expensive tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference testing conducted by other firms, she clarifies.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

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

Components on the label of the bottle are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up