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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out Aldi was launching a recent product collection that appeared comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She dashed to her nearest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of the two creams look noticeably alike. While she has not used the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and offer budget-friendly options to premium products. They often have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Better'

Skincare professionals say many substitutes to high-end labels are decent standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is always superior," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," notes a podcast host, who presents a podcast with famous people.

Many of the products modeled on luxury labels "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will handle the basics to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or something which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the experts also advise shoppers check details and state that more expensive products are occasionally worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - often the increased price tag also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science employed to develop the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert she says it's important thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they may contain less effective components that do not provide as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be sold by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises using medical-grade labels.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to costly studies to assess how efficacious they are.

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

When the label states about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by other companies, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the label of the container are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up