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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was selling a new skincare range that appeared comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her closest store to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold top of the two products look remarkably similar. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent poll.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate established companies and present affordable substitutes to luxury items. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists say some substitutes to premium labels are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always superior," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who presents a program with celebrities.

Numerous of the products based on high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

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

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the professionals also suggest consumers check details and state that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - often the elevated price also comes from the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science employed to create the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she states they might include less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The big doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to medical-grade brands.

She says these will likely have been through costly tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference testing completed by other companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Container

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

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