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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out a discounter was launching a new skincare range that looked comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest shop to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of each creams look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

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

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a recently published poll.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name brands and provide cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare specialists contend certain alternatives to high-end labels are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

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

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a program about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "They will perform the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is very affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the experts also suggest consumers investigate and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and marketing - at times the increased price also comes from the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology employed to produce the item, and studies into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they may contain less effective components that do not provide as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises using research-backed brands.

She states these typically have been through costly trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

If the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite studies done by different brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the back of the container are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up