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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard a discounter was offering a new beauty line that appeared comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml product.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold lid of each items look strikingly alike. Although she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and provide affordable alternatives to premium products. These products frequently have similar labels and design, but sometimes the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists argue many substitutes to premium brands are good standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always superior," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who runs a show featuring famous people.

Many of the items based on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

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

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

However the specialists also suggest consumers do their research and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

With premium skincare, you're not just paying for the label and promotion - sometimes the higher price also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the science used to develop the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

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

In some cases, she states they may contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One big doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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For more complicated items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting medical-grade companies.

The expert states these typically have been through comprehensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

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

If the brand makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it requires evidence to back it up, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by other companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Components on the label of the container are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up