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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out a discounter was launching a new beauty line that appeared similar to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold top of each items look remarkably similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy established brands and provide affordable alternatives to luxury products. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Skincare professionals argue many dupes to premium brands are good quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably superior," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a podcast host, who presents a program with famous people.

Many of the items modeled on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

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

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

However the professionals also suggest shoppers investigate and say that costlier products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - sometimes the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the research employed to develop the product, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Facialist she suggests it's worth questioning how some dupes can be offered so cheaply.

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

"One big doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised companies.

The expert explains these probably have been through expensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use evidence completed by other companies, she says.

Check the Label of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up