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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out Aldi was launching a recent beauty line that seemed similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold cap of the two products look noticeably similar. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from high street stores 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 increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name labels and offer cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. These products frequently have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Skincare specialists argue certain dupes to high-end labels are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is always superior," comments consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast about public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will do the job," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also recommend buyers investigate and state that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the name and marketing - at times the elevated price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science used to develop the product, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they could have bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn notes in some cases he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she advises selecting more specialised brands.

She states these will likely have been through expensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the performance of the item, it needs data to support it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by other firms, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up