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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a discounter was selling a new skincare range that looked similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest store to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The smooth blue container and gold top of the two creams look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that copy well-known companies and offer budget-friendly options to luxury products. They often have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists argue certain substitutes to premium brands are good standard and aid make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about public figures.

Numerous of the items based on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the specialists also advise buyers do their research and note that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not only funding the name and advertising - often the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to produce the item, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's worth considering how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could contain bulking agents that lack as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade labels.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

When the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have evidence to verify it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead reference evidence done by different firms, she clarifies.

Read the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the tube are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up