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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was selling a new skincare range that seemed akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael rushed to her local shop to buy the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its sleek blue tube and gold top of both products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's impressed by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using lookalike products from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK shoppers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published poll.

Lookalikes are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and present cost-effective substitutes to high-end items. They typically have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue certain dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and help make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is invariably superior," states skin specialist a doctor. "Not all affordable skincare brand is poor - and not all luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says Scott McGlynn, who presents a podcast with public figures.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"These products will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will handle the essentials to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when seeking simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is very affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the specialists also recommend shoppers investigate and say that more expensive products are sometimes worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only paying for the brand and promotion - at times the elevated price tag also is due to the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the active ingredient, the technology employed to create the item, and studies into the products' performance, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's worth considering how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

Occasionally, she believes they may contain filler ingredients that lack as significant advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says on occasion he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be convinced by the outer appearance," he added.

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For potent items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist suggests using research-backed labels.

The expert states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products must be evaluated before they can be marketed in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label states about the performance of the item, it requires evidence to support it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can alternatively reference studies completed by different companies, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Is there any components that could suggest a item is inferior?

Components on the list of the bottle are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up