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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that looked akin to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest store to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml product.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two items look strikingly comparable. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44% among younger adults, as per a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are beauty items that copy bigger name brands and present budget-friendly options to high-end products. These products often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue certain substitutes to luxury labels are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily better," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every affordable product line is poor - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with celebrities.

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

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Packaging'

But the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and note that more expensive products are at times worth the extra money.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just paying for the name and promotion - at times the increased cost also comes from the components and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the technology utilized to produce the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo notes.

Facialist another professional argues it's important considering how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they might have filler ingredients that don't have as numerous positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Podcast host Scott says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a established label but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he warned.

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Regarding advanced items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, the specialist advises selecting more specialised companies.

The expert explains these probably have been through expensive trials to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company makes claims about the performance of the item, it requires data to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively use evidence conducted by different firms, she adds.

Check the Label of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could signal a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up