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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was selling a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her local outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of the two creams look remarkably alike. And though she has not tested the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers say they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known brands and present budget-friendly alternatives to luxury items. These products often have alike labels and design, but occasionally the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals argue certain dupes to high-end labels are good quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably better," states dermatology expert a doctor. "Not all low-budget skincare brand is poor - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really excellent," notes a podcast host, who presents a podcast featuring famous people.

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the basics to a reasonable level."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the experts also recommend consumers do their research and note that costlier products are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just funding the name and marketing - often the higher cost also stems from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, the expert notes.

Facialist she suggests it's important considering how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she says they could have less effective components that lack as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott says in some cases he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests sticking to more specialised brands.

She says these probably have been through expensive studies to assess how effective they are.

Skincare items must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it must have evidence to back it up, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite evidence done by different brands, she clarifies.

Read the Back of the Container

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

Components on the label of the container are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up