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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out Aldi was offering a recent beauty line that seemed similar to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael hurried to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The smooth blue container and gold top of both products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recent study.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy bigger name companies and present budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. They often have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the components can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty experts say certain dupes to high-end brands are good quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is always more effective," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," notes a podcast host, who runs a podcast with famous people.

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

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the essentials to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just covering the label and promotion - sometimes the elevated price tag also is due to the components and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the product, and studies into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's worth considering how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they may have bulking agents that do not provide as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests using medical-grade labels.

The expert says these will likely have been through costly tests to assess how effective they are.

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

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "but the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead use studies completed by different companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Back of the Container

Are there any components that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up