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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was launching a recent skincare range that appeared akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold cap of both creams look noticeably similar. While she has not tested the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

More than a 25% of UK consumers state they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent study.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and offer affordable substitutes to luxury items. They frequently have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare experts argue many substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable standard and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is invariably superior," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every budget skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"Some [dupes] are truly amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast featuring famous people.

A lot of of the products based on luxury labels "disappear so rapidly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can save money when seeking single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is fairly low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

Yet the specialists also recommend consumers investigate and say that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not just paying for the name and advertising - at times the increased cost also comes from the components and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the technology used to develop the product, and studies into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist another professional says it's important questioning how certain alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she states they might contain less effective components that don't have as significant benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The big uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding more complicated items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests using more specialised labels.

The expert states these will likely have been through costly studies to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products must be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "but the brand doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference evidence completed by other companies, she adds.

Read the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the container are ordered by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up