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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was offering a recent beauty line that appeared akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her local store to purchase the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of both products look noticeably comparable. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44% among younger adults, according to a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that copy well-known brands and offer affordable options to luxury products. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals say some dupes to high-end brands are decent standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily superior," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the specialists also advise buyers do their research and state that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and marketing - sometimes the increased price also is due to the formula and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the research employed to create the item, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert she says it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they might contain less effective components that do not provide as significant benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

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

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests using research-backed brands.

She explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs data to back it up, "however the brand doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead use testing completed by other firms, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is inferior?

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up