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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned a supermarket was offering a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold cap of the two creams look strikingly similar. And though she has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established labels and provide budget-friendly options to premium items. These products typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals argue certain alternatives to premium labels are decent quality and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably more effective," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a show featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will perform the essentials to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the professionals also advise consumers do their research and state that more expensive products are at times worth the extra money.

With high-end skincare, you're not only funding the name and marketing - at times the increased cost also comes from the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the science employed to produce the product, and studies into the products' effectiveness, the expert explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they may contain filler ingredients that don't have as significant advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes sometimes he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he added.

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting research-backed labels.

The expert says these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the seller does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by different companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up