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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that seemed akin to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml product.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold cap of both creams look noticeably alike. And though she has never tried the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK shoppers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44% among younger adults, as per a February poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate bigger name brands and present affordable substitutes to luxury items. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals contend many substitutes to high-end labels are decent standard and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is always better," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not every luxury beauty item is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really excellent," notes a podcast host, who presents a podcast about public figures.

Numerous of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

But the experts also advise consumers do their research and note that more expensive products are at times worth the premium price.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - often the increased cost also is due to the components and their quality, the potency of the key component, the science utilized to produce the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist she argues it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they might have filler ingredients that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One major uncertainty is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name label but the product itself has "no connection to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he added.

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Regarding more complicated products or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends sticking to more specialised companies.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to expensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Skincare products must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have data to back it up, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead use evidence conducted by different firms, she adds.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up