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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

The smooth blue packaging and gold lid of the two items look remarkably similar. Although she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, as per a recently published survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic established brands and provide affordable substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists say some dupes to premium labels are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is always superior," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a program with public figures.

Many of the products inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a lookalike or something which is very affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

However the specialists also advise consumers do their research and say that more expensive products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not only covering the name and advertising - often the increased price tag also comes from the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the science utilized to create the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they could include less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that look similar to a well-known label but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests selecting medical-grade companies.

She explains these typically have been through costly tests to evaluate how successful they are.

Skincare items must be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the company advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the brand doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference studies conducted by other companies, she says.

Examine the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up