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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a recent product collection that seemed similar to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue container and gold lid of the two items look noticeably comparable. Although she has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name labels and present budget-friendly options to premium products. They typically have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals say certain alternatives to high-end labels are decent standard and aid make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably superior," states skin specialist one expert. "Not every budget product line is bad - and not all luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the items inspired by high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional thinks dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "These items will do the fundamentals to a reasonable standard."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is very low cost because there's very little that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the professionals also suggest consumers do their research and note that costlier items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With luxury beauty products, you're not only covering the brand and marketing - at times the higher price tag also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to create the product, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth considering how some dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could include less effective components that lack as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The big question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn notes in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For potent items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises using research-backed labels.

The expert states these will likely have been through comprehensive studies to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the brand advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to back it up, "however the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead use evidence completed by other companies, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up