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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer heard a discounter was launching a recent product collection that seemed comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her nearest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of the two items look remarkably alike. While she has not used the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate established brands and provide affordable alternatives to high-end products. They often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily superior," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not every budget beauty label is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a show about celebrities.

Many of the products based on high-end brands "disappear so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also suggest shoppers investigate and note that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and advertising - sometimes the elevated cost also stems from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science employed to create the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert another professional says it's worth questioning how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could have bulking agents that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The key uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott notes on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert states these typically have been through expensive trials to determine how effective they are.

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

If the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to support it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Container

Are there any components that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the tube are arranged by quantity. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up