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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper found out Aldi was selling a new skincare range that seemed similar to items from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She hurried to her local store to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The streamlined blue tube and gold cap of each items look strikingly comparable. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she claims she's satisfied by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent survey.

Dupes are beauty items that copy well-known labels and provide affordable substitutes to premium products. They often have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Always Better'

Skincare experts argue some alternatives to luxury labels are good quality and assist make skincare more affordable.

"It is not true that costlier is always more effective," says consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all affordable product line is bad - and not all premium beauty item is the best."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a show about celebrities.

A lot of of the items based on luxury brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry thinks dupes are fine to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable standard."

A consultant dermatologist, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in using a dupe or something which is fairly affordable because there's minimal that can cause issues," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

Yet the specialists also suggest shoppers investigate and say that costlier items are at times worth the premium price.

Regarding premium skincare, you're not only funding the name and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also comes from the ingredients and their standard, the concentration of the active ingredient, the research used to develop the item, and tests into the products' efficacy, the expert says.

Skin therapist she suggests it's important considering how certain alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

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

"One major doubt is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she says.

Expert Scott says on occasion he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he cautioned.

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For potent products or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises selecting more specialised companies.

She states these probably have been through costly studies to evaluate how successful they are.

Beauty items must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company states about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "but the brand does not always have to do the testing" and can alternatively reference studies completed by different brands, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the back of the tube are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you need to avoid… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up