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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was offering a fresh skincare range that appeared akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of each products look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44% among younger adults, according to a February poll.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic bigger name labels and provide budget-friendly substitutes to luxury items. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists contend certain dupes to premium labels are decent quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable product line is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "They will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is quite affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the experts also suggest consumers investigate and state that costlier items are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only covering the name and marketing - sometimes the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their grade, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the item, and studies into the item's performance, she notes.

Facialist she suggests it's important thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they could include less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he warned.

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For potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to more specialised labels.

The expert says these typically have been through costly studies to assess how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by other companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the tube are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up