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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was launching a fresh beauty line that looked akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her local shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold cap of both creams look strikingly alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established brands and provide cost-effective options to luxury items. These products often have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare professionals contend some dupes to high-end brands are good standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily superior," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all budget skincare brand is poor - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says a podcast host, who hosts a podcast featuring public figures.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is quite affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the specialists also recommend shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the name and marketing - sometimes the increased price also stems from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to create the item, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo notes.

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

Occasionally, she states they could have less effective components that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The big question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's bought skincare items that look similar to a well-known brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be sold by the container," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends using more specialised labels.

She states these will likely have been through expensive trials to assess how successful they are.

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

If the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by different firms, she says.

Examine the Back of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up