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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out a supermarket was launching a recent beauty line that appeared similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her local shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue container and gold lid of the two creams look noticeably similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recent survey.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and present affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products frequently have alike labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare experts contend some dupes to high-end labels are decent quality and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily superior," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," notes a podcast host, who hosts a podcast with famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

However the professionals also advise shoppers investigate and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - at times the increased price also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the technology used to produce the product, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they might have bulking agents that do not provide as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One big uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott notes sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For potent products or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using more specialised labels.

She says these probably have been subjected to costly trials to determine how effective they are.

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

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to support it, "but the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the trials" and can instead use evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Check the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the label of the container are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up