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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out Aldi was selling a new beauty line that appeared comparable to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop to buy the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold lid of both items look strikingly similar. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been using lookalike products from high street stores and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a 25% of UK consumers report they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate established companies and present budget-friendly options to luxury items. These products typically have similar labels and design, but sometimes the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Always Better'

Beauty experts contend many alternatives to high-end brands are good standard and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that more expensive is always superior," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a show featuring public figures.

A lot of of the products based on high-end labels "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

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

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Box'

However the specialists also recommend consumers check details and state that costlier items are occasionally worth the extra money.

With premium skincare, you're not just paying for the label and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the science utilized to develop the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's worth considering how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they could include bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

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

Commentator McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear similar to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

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

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For potent items or ones with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting research-backed companies.

The expert says these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label states about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the seller doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite studies completed by other brands, she adds.

Read the Back of the Container

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a item is inferior?

Ingredients on the list of the container are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up