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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer found out Aldi was offering a new beauty line that seemed akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael hurried to her closest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of each products look noticeably comparable. Although she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published survey.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established companies and provide budget-friendly options to premium products. They typically have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists say some substitutes to high-end brands are reasonable standard and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily better," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not every luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really excellent," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with celebrities.

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

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "They will do the basics to a acceptable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or something which is very low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also advise shoppers check details and state that costlier products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only covering the name and marketing - sometimes the elevated price tag also is due to the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to produce the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Beauty expert another professional says it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they may include less effective components that do not provide as significant advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using more specialised companies.

The expert explains these probably have been through expensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to verify it, "but the brand does not necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively use evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could signal a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up