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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out a discounter was launching a fresh beauty line that appeared akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its sleek blue container and gold lid of the two products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent survey.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name brands and provide affordable substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts say some substitutes to premium brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a show about public figures.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and state that costlier items are at times worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the label and advertising - sometimes the higher price also stems from the formula and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the science used to develop the item, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they might have less effective components that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the container," he cautioned.

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For more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises selecting more specialised companies.

She says these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires research to verify it, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead cite evidence completed by different brands, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any components that could signal a product is inferior?

Components on the label of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up