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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned Aldi was launching a new skincare range that seemed similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest outlet to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the high-end 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of each items look noticeably similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and provide cost-effective substitutes to luxury items. These products frequently have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts say many alternatives to premium brands are good standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably more effective," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with famous people.

Many of the items modeled on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

But the professionals also suggest consumers check details and note that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the premium price.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - often the elevated price also comes from the components and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the technology used to produce the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's important questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could include filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she advises using more specialised companies.

The expert says these will likely have been through expensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up