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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard a supermarket was selling a fresh beauty line that looked similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of each products look remarkably alike. While she has not used the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK consumers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic established labels and offer affordable alternatives to luxury products. They often have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare professionals say some substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable standard and assist make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is invariably more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a reasonable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a budget alternative or something which is fairly low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

However the professionals also advise buyers do their research and note that higher-priced products are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just funding the name and advertising - sometimes the increased price also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the technology utilized to create the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert says.

Beauty expert she says it's important questioning how some alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they might include filler ingredients that do not provide as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name label but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised companies.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to assess how successful they are.

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

When the brand advertises about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the brand does not always have to conduct the trials" and can instead use testing conducted by different firms, she says.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up