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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard Aldi was offering a fresh skincare range that looked similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its sleek blue container and gold top of both creams look strikingly similar. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic established labels and provide budget-friendly substitutes to premium products. They frequently have alike labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists contend some substitutes to luxury brands are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily superior," comments consultant dermatologist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," says a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast with celebrities.

Numerous of the items inspired by luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will handle the essentials to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also suggest shoppers check details and say that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just covering the name and promotion - sometimes the elevated cost also stems from the formula and their grade, the strength of the key component, the science utilized to develop the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they may contain filler ingredients that don't have as numerous advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises using medical-grade companies.

The expert says these typically have been through costly trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the effectiveness of the product, it requires data to back it up, "however the brand does not always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively use testing conducted by other firms, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up