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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned Aldi was launching a new skincare range that seemed akin to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue tube and gold top of each products look strikingly comparable. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK consumers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recent study.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known labels and present affordable substitutes to high-end products. They often have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say some substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably better," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a podcast host, who presents a show featuring famous people.

A lot of of the items inspired by high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "They will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the experts also recommend buyers do their research and state that higher-priced items are at times worth the additional cost.

With premium beauty products, you're not only covering the label and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the research utilized to create the product, and studies into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Skin therapist she says it's worth questioning how some alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they could include less effective components that don't have as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the container," he cautioned.

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For more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends selecting research-backed labels.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to costly trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare products are required to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the label states about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to verify it, "however the brand does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite studies completed by other companies, she adds.

Read the Back of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up