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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was offering a recent skincare range that appeared comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her closest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue tube and gold lid of each creams look strikingly comparable. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

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

More than a quarter of UK shoppers state they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This increases to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy established labels and provide affordable substitutes to luxury items. These products often have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals argue certain alternatives to premium labels are good standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion costlier is always superior," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a program featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the products inspired by high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

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

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the experts also suggest consumers investigate and state that costlier products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only covering the label and marketing - often the increased price also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the science utilized to produce the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist she argues it's worth questioning how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they could have filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott says sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established label but the item has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends sticking to more specialised brands.

She explains these typically have been subjected to comprehensive trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, explains expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the effectiveness of the item, it must have data to back it up, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite studies conducted by other companies, she says.

Examine the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a product is poor?

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