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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was selling a fresh skincare range that seemed similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest store to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold lid of both creams look remarkably similar. While she has not used the premium cream, she states she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, as per a February poll.

Dupes are skincare products that copy bigger name brands and offer budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products frequently have comparable labels and design, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists say certain alternatives to high-end labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily superior," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all budget product line is inferior - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes a podcast host, who presents a podcast with famous people.

A lot of of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor argues alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient items like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're likely going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the professionals also advise shoppers do their research and note that more expensive items are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only covering the brand and promotion - often the elevated cost also is due to the components and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to create the product, and tests into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Beauty expert she argues it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could have bulking agents that don't have as many advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One key uncertainty is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using research-backed companies.

The expert says these probably have been through costly trials to determine how effective they are.

Skincare products are required to be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have data to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference evidence completed by different companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Are there any components that could indicate a product is poor?

Components on the back of the container are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up