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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned a discounter was launching a new beauty line that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The smooth blue container and gold lid of each creams look remarkably similar. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and offer affordable substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals contend certain alternatives to high-end labels are decent quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily more effective," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable product line is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program about famous people.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he says. "They will do the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also advise buyers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not just paying for the name and promotion - sometimes the higher price also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist another professional says it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she states they could have less effective components that lack as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

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

Commentator McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that look similar to a established brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting research-backed brands.

She says these probably have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the performance of the product, it requires evidence to support it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence done by different companies, she says.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up