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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was offering a new product collection that appeared similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of the two products look remarkably similar. While she has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and provide cost-effective options to luxury items. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists contend some alternatives to high-end labels are decent standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is always more effective," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not every luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who runs a program featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury labels "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

However the professionals also recommend consumers do their research and note that costlier items are sometimes worth the extra money.

With high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the name and marketing - at times the increased cost also is due to the formula and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the technology employed to produce the product, and tests into the products' efficacy, the expert explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's worth considering how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they may contain bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests sticking to research-backed companies.

She states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it must have data to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference testing completed by other brands, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Ingredients 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, benzel peroxide" being {high up