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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a recent product collection that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two creams look remarkably similar. And though she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK consumers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established companies and present affordable substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Skincare professionals argue certain alternatives to luxury brands are reasonable standard and aid make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is always superior," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget skincare brand is inferior - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the products based on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

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

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula 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 opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the specialists also suggest buyers check details and state that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just funding the name and advertising - sometimes the elevated cost also is due to the formula and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the research used to develop the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert she says it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she says they may have filler ingredients that lack as significant advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be sold by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests selecting research-backed brands.

The expert explains these will likely have been through expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

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

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the product, it requires evidence to support it, "however the seller does not always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference studies completed by other firms, she adds.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up