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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard Aldi was launching a recent product collection that looked akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her closest store to buy the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue tube and gold lid of each products look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published study.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate established companies and present budget-friendly options to luxury products. These products frequently have alike names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare experts contend certain dupes to high-end brands are good standard and aid make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is invariably better," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who runs a program featuring celebrities.

A lot of of the products based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry argues dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will do the basics to a acceptable level."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when seeking single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the experts also suggest buyers check details and note that costlier items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the label and promotion - sometimes the higher cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the research employed to create the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist another professional argues it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they could include bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

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

Commentator McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a big-name label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the container," he cautioned.

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For potent products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she suggests using more specialised companies.

The expert states these probably have been subjected to costly tests to determine how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, explains skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the efficacy of the product, it requires evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the trials" and can instead use studies done by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the label of the tube are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up