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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned Aldi was selling a recent product collection that appeared akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest outlet to purchase the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold cap of the two products look noticeably comparable. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published study.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate bigger name brands and present budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have similar names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue many substitutes to luxury labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program about public figures.

Many of the items inspired by luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

However the specialists also recommend consumers check details and state that higher-priced items are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only funding the brand and promotion - often the higher price tag also stems from the components and their standard, the potency of the key component, the research utilized to produce the product, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Facialist another professional says it's valuable thinking about how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she states they might contain bulking agents that do not provide as many advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn notes in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he warned.

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For more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends using more specialised companies.

She states these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively cite testing done by different companies, she clarifies.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Are there any components that could signal a item is poor?

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