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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard a supermarket was offering a recent beauty line that seemed akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her local store to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of both items look remarkably comparable. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and present cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say many alternatives to luxury labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily better," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable product line is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a program with celebrities.

Many of the items inspired by high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

However the experts also suggest consumers do their research and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just covering the name and advertising - often the elevated price tag also comes from the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the research used to develop the item, and tests into the products' performance, she explains.

Skin therapist she suggests it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they could contain less effective components that do not provide as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends using research-backed companies.

The expert says these probably have been through expensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite studies completed by other brands, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up