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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out a supermarket was launching a new product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The sleek blue tube and gold lid of both items look noticeably comparable. Although she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a February poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that copy well-known brands and offer affordable alternatives to premium items. They often have similar labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists argue many dupes to premium labels are decent standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is always more effective," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget skincare brand is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," says a skincare commentator, who presents a program with public figures.

Many of the items inspired by high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will do the job," he says. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

However the experts also recommend consumers do their research and state that costlier products are occasionally worth the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the label and marketing - often the elevated cost also stems from the formula and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the science used to produce the product, and trials into the item's performance, the expert says.

Beauty expert another professional argues it's valuable considering how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she states they might have less effective components that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The key question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Commentator Scott notes in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using more specialised brands.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead reference testing conducted by different firms, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the list of the tube are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up