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Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of both creams look noticeably similar. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers state they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to premium products. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals argue some substitutes to luxury brands are decent standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably more effective," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast about public figures.

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

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

But the experts also advise buyers investigate and state that costlier items are at times worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only funding the brand and advertising - often the increased price also is due to the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science employed to develop the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's worth thinking about how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they could include filler ingredients that lack as many positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One big doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator Scott admits on occasion he's bought skincare items that look similar to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests sticking to research-backed brands.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items must be tested before they can be available in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the company states about the performance of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite testing done by different brands, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Components on the label of the tube are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up