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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was launching a recent skincare range that looked akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her local outlet to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold lid of each items look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers state they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published study.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. These products often have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the formulas can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say certain dupes to luxury brands are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that higher-priced is always more effective," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not every affordable skincare brand is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely excellent," says a podcast host, who hosts a show featuring public figures.

Numerous of the products modeled on luxury labels "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "They will handle the basics to a acceptable standard."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is fairly affordable because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the specialists also recommend buyers do their research and note that higher-priced products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the label and promotion - sometimes the elevated price tag also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology employed to create the item, and trials into the products' efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist she suggests it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they might have less effective components that don't have as many positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn notes in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he added.

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to more specialised companies.

She states these will likely have been through comprehensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Skincare products need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the company advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it needs data to verify it, "however the manufacturer does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead use studies completed by other companies, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up