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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard Aldi was offering a new beauty line that looked akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her local shop to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue container and gold top of each products look noticeably alike. Although Rachael has not tested the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been buying lookalike products from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published survey.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate established brands and provide affordable options to high-end items. They typically have comparable branding and containers, but sometimes the components can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty professionals contend some dupes to premium labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always superior," states skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"Some [dupes] are really amazing," notes a podcast host, who hosts a program about celebrities.

Numerous of the items modeled on high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor another professional argues dupes are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "They will handle the basics to a acceptable standard."

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

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be fine in using a lookalike or a product which is fairly low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

But the specialists also suggest shoppers investigate and note that more expensive items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the label and promotion - sometimes the elevated cost also stems from the components and their quality, the strength of the key component, the research utilized to create the item, and trials into the item's effectiveness, the expert notes.

Facialist she suggests it's valuable questioning how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she says they might include bulking agents that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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Regarding advanced items or those with ingredients that can aggravate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises selecting more specialised labels.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

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

If the label advertises about the performance of the product, it requires data to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead reference testing completed by other brands, she clarifies.

Examine the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the bottle are arranged by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up