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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a new skincare range that looked akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She dashed to her local shop to buy the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml item.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of each products look strikingly similar. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she states she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from popular shops and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK shoppers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic established brands and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury products. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but in some cases the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty specialists say some substitutes to luxury labels are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is necessarily better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show featuring public figures.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "run out so rapidly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will perform the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in using a dupe or something which is quite low cost because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the experts also recommend buyers investigate and say that more expensive items are sometimes worth the additional cost.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and promotion - often the increased price also is due to the components and their standard, the potency of the key component, the technology used to create the item, and tests into the item's performance, she explains.

Facialist she suggests it's important considering how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they may include less effective components that do not provide as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the original".

"Do not be fooled by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises using more specialised labels.

The expert states these typically have been subjected to costly tests to assess how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert another professional.

When the company advertises about the performance of the item, it requires data to support it, "however the seller does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference testing completed by other firms, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the list of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up