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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a new skincare range that seemed similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold cap of each items look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy well-known labels and provide cost-effective alternatives to premium products. These products typically have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts say some alternatives to luxury brands are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily superior," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable product line is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a program with public figures.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end labels "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "They will do the essentials to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be okay in using a lookalike or something which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the specialists also advise buyers check details and say that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just funding the name and advertising - sometimes the increased cost also is due to the formula and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the technology used to develop the item, and trials into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Skin therapist she argues it's valuable considering how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they could have bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests selecting more specialised labels.

She explains these probably have been through comprehensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Skincare products must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead cite testing conducted by different brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could indicate a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up