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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was launching a new beauty line that looked akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her local shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold cap of both items look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey.

Dupes are beauty items that imitate established companies and present budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. These products typically have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty specialists contend some alternatives to premium brands are decent standard and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably superior," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not all luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast about famous people.

Many of the products inspired by luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the basics to a satisfactory standard."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Container'

But the experts also advise shoppers investigate and say that more expensive items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - often the increased price also comes from the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science utilized to produce the item, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman says it's valuable considering how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they could have filler ingredients that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The key uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the actual formula has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he added.

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Regarding potent products or those with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items must be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the company advertises about the efficacy of the product, it requires data to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not always have to do the trials" and can instead use evidence done by other brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a product is poor?

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