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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was launching a recent product collection that seemed comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her local shop to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold cap of the two items look noticeably comparable. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK buyers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, based on a recent survey.

Dupes are skincare products that copy established brands and provide cost-effective substitutes to luxury items. They typically have alike names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts argue many dupes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably more effective," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the best."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who presents a program about famous people.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a dupe or a product which is very inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

However the specialists also suggest shoppers check details and say that higher-priced items are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the label and promotion - sometimes the elevated price also stems from the formula and their quality, the strength of the active ingredient, the research used to produce the item, and studies into the products' performance, she explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might contain less effective components that don't have as many positive effects for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

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

Expert McGlynn notes sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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For more complicated products or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests using more specialised labels.

She explains these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the product, it needs evidence to verify it, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up