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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a discounter was launching a new skincare range that seemed akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of each items look remarkably comparable. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recently published study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and present budget-friendly options to high-end items. They often have similar labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare specialists say certain dupes to high-end brands are good quality and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget beauty label is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items based on high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "They will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also advise shoppers check details and say that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just paying for the label and marketing - sometimes the higher price also stems from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the science used to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable questioning how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they may have bulking agents that don't have as significant positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises using more specialised companies.

She states these probably have been subjected to expensive studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company advertises about the performance of the product, it must have data to support it, "however the seller does not always have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite evidence completed by different companies, she says.

Examine the Label of the Container

Is there any components that could suggest a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up