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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was selling a new beauty line that looked comparable to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest store to pick up the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue container and gold lid of each products look strikingly similar. Although Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

She has been using lookalike products from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK shoppers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44% among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy bigger name brands and present affordable alternatives to high-end items. They typically have alike labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Skincare experts say many alternatives to high-end brands are reasonable quality and assist make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think more expensive is necessarily more effective," says skin specialist a doctor. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not all luxury skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," notes a skincare commentator, who presents a show featuring public figures.

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

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues alternatives are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he comments. "These items will do the fundamentals to a satisfactory standard."

Another skin doctor, advises you can spend less when searching for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very low cost because there's very little that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

But the specialists also suggest consumers investigate and say that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding high-end skincare, you're not just paying for the name and promotion - sometimes the higher price also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to produce the item, and studies into the products' effectiveness, she says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable thinking about how certain dupes can be sold so cheaply.

Sometimes, she believes they might include bulking agents that lack as numerous benefits for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a established brand but the item has "little similarity to the premium version".

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

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Regarding more complicated items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist suggests using research-backed labels.

She says these typically have been through expensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "but the manufacturer does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead reference studies conducted by other brands, she says.

Check the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the label of the container are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up