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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was selling a recent skincare range that looked akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her closest shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The sleek blue tube and gold top of each products look remarkably alike. Although Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

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

Over a quarter of UK consumers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recently published survey.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established labels and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end products. They frequently have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare experts contend some alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all low-budget product line is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with famous people.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the essentials to a reasonable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the specialists also advise consumers check details and note that costlier products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only funding the name and promotion - sometimes the increased price tag also is due to the components and their grade, the potency of the key component, the research used to create the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's valuable thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they could include less effective components that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established label but the item has "little similarity to the original".

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

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests sticking to research-backed labels.

She explains these probably have been through expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

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

When the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it must have research to support it, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference studies conducted by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Container

Is there any components that could signal a product is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up