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Rachael Parnell

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

She rushed to her local store to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The smooth blue tube and gold top of both products look noticeably comparable. While she has not tested the premium cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK buyers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and offer affordable options to luxury items. They frequently have alike labels and design, but in some cases the components can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists contend some dupes to premium labels are reasonable standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is necessarily more effective," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly excellent," says a podcast host, who hosts a show about celebrities.

Many of the products based on luxury brands "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the professionals also suggest shoppers investigate and say that higher-priced items are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - at times the increased price also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the technology utilized to produce the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist she says it's important questioning how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they might include less effective components that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she recommends using more specialised companies.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can instead cite testing done by different firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Components on the list of the tube are ordered by quantity. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up