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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer learned Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest store to purchase the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold cap of both creams look remarkably similar. Although she has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers state they've tried a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recent study.

Lookalikes are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and provide budget-friendly substitutes to high-end items. They often have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare experts say many alternatives to luxury brands are good quality and assist make skincare less expensive.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably better," states consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not all affordable product line is inferior - and not all premium skincare product is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," says a skincare commentator, who runs a program with famous people.

Many of the products based on high-end labels "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "These items will do the essentials to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in using a lookalike or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the experts also advise shoppers check details and say that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and promotion - often the increased price tag also comes from the formula and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the science utilized to develop the product, and tests into the products' performance, the expert explains.

Facialist Rhian Truman says it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may have bulking agents that lack as many positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The big doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

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

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting medical-grade labels.

The expert says these will likely have been subjected to expensive tests to determine how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, explains expert another professional.

If the brand makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it needs research to support it, "however the brand does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead reference testing conducted by other companies, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Components on the label of the container are ordered by quantity. "The baddies that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up