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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper learned Aldi was launching a new beauty line that appeared comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue tube and gold top of each products look noticeably similar. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, as per a recently published study.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate well-known brands and offer cost-effective options to luxury items. These products frequently have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals contend many alternatives to high-end labels are decent quality and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily better," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all affordable beauty label is poor - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who runs a show with public figures.

A lot of of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so fast, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues dupes are fine to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he comments. "These items will handle the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be alright in using a dupe or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also suggest shoppers do their research and state that costlier products are sometimes worth the extra money.

With premium skincare, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also comes from the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the science employed to produce the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, the expert explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's important considering how certain dupes can be offered so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she says they could include bulking agents that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist suggests sticking to medical-grade labels.

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

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the label makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it requires research to verify it, "however the manufacturer doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead use testing completed by different firms, she says.

Check the Label of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are arranged by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up