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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a supermarket was launching a recent skincare range that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest store to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of the two items look strikingly comparable. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK buyers report they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a February survey.

Dupes are beauty items that copy established brands and present cost-effective alternatives to premium products. They typically have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty professionals contend certain dupes to high-end labels are good standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily superior," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who runs a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the specialists also suggest consumers check details and say that costlier products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - often the higher price tag also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the research utilized to produce the item, and studies into the item's performance, she says.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's worth considering how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might contain bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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For potent products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

She explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive studies to evaluate how successful they are.

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

When the label states about the efficacy of the product, it needs data to support it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively use testing done by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the list of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up