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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that appeared similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her closest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold lid of the two items look noticeably similar. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate established companies and offer cost-effective substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty professionals contend many alternatives to luxury labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily superior," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a podcast host, who presents a show about celebrities.

Many of the items modeled on high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he comments. "They will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

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

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

But the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and state that more expensive products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and advertising - often the increased price tag also stems from the formula and their standard, the potency of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the product, and studies into the item's performance, Dr Belmo says.

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

In some cases, she believes they could include less effective components that lack as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be convinced by the container," he added.

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises selecting research-backed brands.

She explains these typically have been through expensive tests to determine how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to do the trials" and can alternatively reference studies conducted by other firms, she says.

Check the Back of the Bottle

Is there any components that could signal a product is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up