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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned a discounter was launching a recent product collection that looked similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The streamlined blue tube and gold cap of both items look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer cost-effective alternatives to high-end items. These products often have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say many dupes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think more expensive is always more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a podcast host, who runs a show featuring famous people.

A lot of of the products based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also recommend consumers do their research and note that more expensive items are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - at times the increased price tag also is due to the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the science used to produce the product, and trials into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's worth considering how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they might include filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

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

Expert McGlynn notes sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding advanced products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

She states these probably have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company states about the performance of the item, it needs research to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to do the testing" and can instead cite evidence conducted by different firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Components on the label of the bottle are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up