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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was launching a recent product collection that seemed similar to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

She rushed to her local store to purchase the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of each items look noticeably similar. While Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the dupe 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 state they've purchased a skincare or makeup lookalike. This rises to 44% among millennials and Gen Z, based on a recent survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate well-known labels and present affordable options to premium products. They often have alike branding and containers, but in some cases the ingredients can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts contend some substitutes to high-end brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily better," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not all budget beauty label is bad - and not every high-end beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a podcast host, who hosts a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he says. "They will handle the basics to a reasonable standard."

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

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

However the specialists also recommend consumers check details and note that higher-priced products are at times worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the label and advertising - sometimes the higher price also stems from the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the technology used to produce the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Beauty expert she argues it's worth considering how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might have filler ingredients that lack as significant positive effects for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits in some cases he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be sold by the container," he warned.

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Regarding potent products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting more specialised labels.

She explains these probably have been subjected to costly trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to verify it, "however the brand does not always have to do the trials" and can instead reference studies conducted by other brands, she clarifies.

Read the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the container are arranged by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up