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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper heard Aldi was offering a fresh skincare range that appeared similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She rushed to her local shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The streamlined blue container and gold top of both products look remarkably alike. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the dupe so far.

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

Over a fourth of UK consumers state they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This rises to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published study.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy established companies and offer affordable options to luxury items. They often have alike branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can change substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals say certain alternatives to premium brands are good quality and aid make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that more expensive is invariably more effective," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every affordable beauty label is poor - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," says a podcast host, who presents a podcast with celebrities.

A lot of of the products modeled on luxury labels "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are acceptable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will do the essentials to a acceptable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly affordable because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Packaging'

However the experts also suggest shoppers check details and state that costlier products are at times worth the premium price.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - at times the elevated cost also stems from the components and their standard, the potency of the effective element, the research employed to produce the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's worth considering how some dupes can be priced so cheaply.

Sometimes, she states they could contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as carefully selected.

"The key uncertainty is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Don't be sold by the container," he warned.

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Regarding potent items or those with ingredients that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using research-backed brands.

She explains these will likely have been through costly studies to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

When the company makes claims about the efficacy of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead use testing conducted by other firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Bottle

Is there any components that could indicate a item is poor?

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up