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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was launching a fresh product collection that looked similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her local store to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold cap of both products look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing lookalike products from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, as per a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate bigger name labels and offer cost-effective options to premium items. They frequently have comparable names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Beauty professionals contend certain dupes to high-end labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably better," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a podcast host, who runs a program with celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry argues dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "They will perform the essentials to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're buying a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is very low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also recommend shoppers investigate and say that costlier items are occasionally worthy of the premium price.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - often the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the science utilized to create the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's important thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she believes they might contain filler ingredients that lack as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One key doubt is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using research-backed companies.

The expert says these will likely have been through costly tests to evaluate how efficacious they are.

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

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite evidence completed by different companies, she says.

Read the Back of the Pack

Is there any components that could indicate a product is low-quality?

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