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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard a supermarket was launching a fresh product collection that appeared similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her closest store to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold lid of both products look strikingly similar. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and provide affordable alternatives to luxury items. They frequently have alike labels and design, but sometimes the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts say certain substitutes to high-end brands are decent quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is bad - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a podcast host, who hosts a program about celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and say that costlier items are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and advertising - often the higher price also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the technology employed to develop the product, and studies into the products' performance, the expert notes.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable considering how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they might contain bulking agents that lack as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For more complicated items or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised brands.

The expert says these will likely have been through costly tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing completed by other firms, she says.

Read the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the container are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up