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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell heard Aldi was selling a recent product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her local shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

The smooth blue container and gold lid of both items look noticeably alike. Although she has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a 25% of UK buyers report they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are skincare products that copy bigger name companies and provide budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. They frequently have alike labels and design, but in some cases the components can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Skincare professionals argue some alternatives to luxury labels are decent quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"In my opinion higher-priced is invariably more effective," states dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every budget product line is inferior - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," notes a podcast host, who presents a show with famous people.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will do the job," he comments. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she adds.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

But the experts also advise consumers check details and say that costlier products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and marketing - at times the higher price tag also is due to the components and their standard, the strength of the active ingredient, the science used to produce the item, and tests into the products' performance, she explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's important questioning how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they may include bulking agents that do not provide as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One big uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott notes on occasion he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a established label but the product itself has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate recommends sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert explains these typically have been subjected to expensive studies to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products must be tested before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert another professional.

If the company advertises about the efficacy of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the brand does not always have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively reference testing conducted by other companies, she says.

Check the Back of the Pack

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

Components on the back of the bottle are listed by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up