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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was launching a new product collection that looked comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She hurried to her nearest shop to buy the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of each products look remarkably similar. While Rachael has not used the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a recent study.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy established labels and provide budget-friendly options to premium products. They typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue some substitutes to high-end brands are good quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably better," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the specialists also advise consumers investigate and say that costlier items are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - often the elevated price also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to develop the item, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important considering how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could include bulking agents that do not provide as many benefits for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One key doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the original".

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

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, she recommends sticking to medical-grade companies.

The expert states these typically have been through comprehensive studies to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can instead use testing conducted by different companies, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Components on the list of the container are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up