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Rachael Parnell

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

She hurried to her nearest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of both items look remarkably alike. While she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent poll.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer cost-effective options to premium products. These products often have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals contend certain dupes to premium brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably superior," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget product line is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast about famous people.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will handle the basics to a acceptable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

However the professionals also advise buyers check details and note that more expensive products are sometimes worth the extra money.

With luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and marketing - at times the elevated price tag also comes from the formula and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to create the product, and trials into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist she argues it's important considering how certain dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they could have less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he added.

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For potent products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting more specialised brands.

She states these probably have been through expensive tests to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to verify it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite studies completed by other companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Components on the list of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up