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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out Aldi was launching a new product collection that seemed akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of the two creams look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK consumers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, according to a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy established labels and present cost-effective options to high-end products. These products often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists contend many dupes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is always more effective," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast featuring public figures.

Numerous of the products based on luxury labels "sell out so fast, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will do the basics to a satisfactory degree."

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

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

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the experts also advise buyers investigate and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the extra money.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - often the higher cost also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the science utilized to create the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Facialist she says it's important considering how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they might contain bulking agents that don't have as significant benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises sticking to medical-grade brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the company states about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can instead cite testing conducted by different brands, she adds.

Check the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Components on the list of the tube are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up