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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out Aldi was selling a new beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The smooth blue tube and gold lid of the two creams look noticeably similar. And though Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic well-known labels and present budget-friendly options to high-end items. These products typically have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain dupes to luxury brands are good standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably more effective," says skin specialist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really amazing," adds a podcast host, who runs a podcast about public figures.

A lot of of the items inspired by luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a dupe or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers do their research and say that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not just funding the label and marketing - often the elevated cost also is due to the components and their standard, the potency of the key component, the science employed to develop the product, and tests into the item's performance, she says.

Facialist another professional argues it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she says they could include less effective components that don't have as numerous advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a well-known brand but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to medical-grade brands.

She states these typically have been through costly tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs research to back it up, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead use testing done by different brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are ordered by concentration. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up