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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was selling a fresh beauty line that looked comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold top of each items look strikingly similar. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known companies and provide budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products typically have similar labels and design, but occasionally the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts argue many substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is necessarily superior," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget beauty label is poor - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," notes a podcast host, who hosts a podcast featuring public figures.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will do the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

Yet the experts also recommend buyers do their research and note that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only covering the label and marketing - sometimes the increased cost also is due to the components and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the science used to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist Rhian Truman argues it's important questioning how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may contain filler ingredients that lack as many positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The key uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he added.

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Regarding advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises using medical-grade labels.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have data to back it up, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead reference evidence done by other brands, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Components on the label of the tube are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up