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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a supermarket was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of both creams look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK buyers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44% among younger adults, based on a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known brands and present cost-effective substitutes to luxury items. They often have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts say many alternatives to premium brands are decent quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who runs a program featuring famous people.

Many of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "They will do the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is very affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also suggest buyers check details and say that more expensive items are sometimes worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the name and marketing - at times the elevated cost also comes from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the research utilized to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional argues it's important considering how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they may have filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

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

Podcast host Scott notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold 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 retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting more specialised brands.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively reference testing conducted by different firms, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up