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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was launching a fresh product collection that looked akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of both creams look noticeably alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a quarter of UK buyers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent study.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established companies and present budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals argue certain alternatives to high-end brands are reasonable quality and aid make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is always better," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every affordable beauty label is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a skincare commentator, who presents a show about famous people.

A lot of of the products modeled on high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "They will perform the basics to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers do their research and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only funding the name and marketing - often the increased price also stems from the components and their quality, the strength of the effective element, the research employed to produce the product, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Skin therapist she suggests it's worth considering how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they may have bulking agents that do not provide as many advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"One major doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she advises using more specialised brands.

She states these will likely have been subjected to costly tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to back it up, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can alternatively cite testing conducted by other companies, she adds.

Check the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up