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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard Aldi was launching a new beauty line that seemed akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest shop to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The streamlined blue tube and gold lid of both products look remarkably alike. And though Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, as per a February survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established labels and provide budget-friendly alternatives to premium items. These products often have similar labels and design, but in some cases the components can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals say many alternatives to premium labels are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is necessarily better," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not all low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every high-end beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a podcast about celebrities.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end brands "disappear so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will do the job," he explains. "These items will do the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when seeking simple-formula items like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a simple product 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 go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

But the professionals also advise shoppers check details and note that higher-priced items are at times worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - at times the elevated price also stems from the components and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the research employed to produce the item, and studies into the item's effectiveness, she explains.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they may have bulking agents that don't have as numerous positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

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

Commentator McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

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

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Regarding potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises using medical-grade labels.

She explains these typically have been through costly tests to assess how efficacious they are.

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

If the brand makes claims about the performance of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence conducted by different companies, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up