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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard a discounter was selling a new beauty line that looked comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

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

The sleek blue packaging and gold cap of both items look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. These products often have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some substitutes to premium brands are reasonable quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily better," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all budget skincare brand is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who hosts a program about famous people.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will do the essentials to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the professionals also suggest shoppers do their research and state that costlier products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the brand and advertising - at times the elevated price tag also comes from the formula and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the product, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist she argues it's important questioning how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

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

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist recommends using medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these probably have been through expensive studies to assess how successful they are.

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

If the label advertises about the performance of the product, it requires data to support it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead cite evidence done by different firms, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Components on the back of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up