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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that looked comparable to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold cap of the two items look strikingly alike. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she states she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic bigger name companies and provide cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. They often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say many dupes to luxury labels are decent quality and assist make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is always better," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a show about celebrities.

Numerous of the items based on luxury labels "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will do the basics to a acceptable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is very low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and note that costlier items are at times worthy of the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only funding the brand and advertising - often the increased price also is due to the components and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, the expert notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they could contain bulking agents that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting more specialised labels.

She states these probably have been through comprehensive tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to support it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead cite testing done by different brands, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up