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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard Aldi was selling a new beauty line that seemed comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue container and gold lid of both products look remarkably similar. While Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and present budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. They typically have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty experts say some dupes to premium brands are good quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is necessarily superior," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show featuring public figures.

Many of the products inspired by high-end labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

However the professionals also advise consumers check details and state that more expensive items are at times worthy of the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and promotion - often the elevated price also stems from the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to create the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, she notes.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important considering how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they might include less effective components that lack as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

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For more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she advises selecting research-backed brands.

She explains these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes skin doctor another professional.

When the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference evidence completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Components on the back of the tube are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up