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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out a discounter was offering a fresh product collection that looked comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest store to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of both products look noticeably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a February poll.

Dupes are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to high-end items. They often have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts say certain substitutes to high-end brands are good standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a program featuring famous people.

Many of the items modeled on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional believes dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the basics to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

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

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the specialists also suggest shoppers do their research and note that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only covering the label and advertising - sometimes the higher cost also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology utilized to create the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they might include bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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For more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist recommends selecting more specialised brands.

She explains these typically have been through expensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items must be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the performance of the product, it requires research to back it up, "however the manufacturer does not always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use testing completed by different brands, she says.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up