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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer heard a discounter was selling a new skincare range that appeared comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her nearest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of each items look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate well-known brands and present cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have similar labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals contend many substitutes to high-end brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily better," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are really impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a show about public figures.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

Yet the professionals also advise consumers investigate and state that higher-priced products are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just paying for the brand and marketing - often the higher cost also is due to the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to produce the item, and trials into the item's performance, the expert notes.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may include less effective components that don't have as many benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a established label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he added.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises using more specialised labels.

She says these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not always have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference studies done by other brands, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up