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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned Aldi was offering a recent beauty line that looked akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml product.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of both creams look strikingly similar. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

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

Over a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic well-known brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products frequently have comparable branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say some dupes to high-end labels are good standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is always more effective," comments dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every luxury beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a show with celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

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

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite affordable because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the professionals also recommend shoppers investigate and state that more expensive items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not only funding the brand and advertising - at times the increased price also comes from the components and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to develop the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's important questioning how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they could contain bulking agents that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott admits on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding potent products or those with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting medical-grade labels.

She states these probably have been through costly tests to determine how effective they are.

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

When the label advertises about the performance of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use testing conducted by other companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Bottle

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up