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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was offering a recent product collection that seemed akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her closest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of the two products look remarkably similar. And though Rachael has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, based on a February poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name companies and offer cost-effective alternatives to high-end products. These products often have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend some dupes to premium labels are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is always better," states consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget skincare brand is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the products based on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will perform the essentials to a reasonable standard."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

But the experts also suggest consumers investigate and state that costlier products are at times worthy of the extra money.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and marketing - at times the higher price also is due to the components and their grade, the strength of the key component, the technology used to create the product, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable considering how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they could have filler ingredients that lack as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

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

Podcast host McGlynn admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

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

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she advises selecting more specialised brands.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the brand doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively cite testing done by different companies, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the container are arranged by concentration. "The baddies that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up