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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer heard Aldi was selling a fresh product collection that appeared akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her local outlet to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The smooth blue packaging and gold top of the two products look strikingly similar. And though she has not used the premium cream, she says she's satisfied by the alternative so far.

She has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK consumers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This increases to 44 percent among younger adults, according to a recently published poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate bigger name brands and present cost-effective alternatives to luxury items. They typically have alike labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists say many substitutes to high-end labels are good quality and aid make skincare cheaper.

"It is not true that costlier is invariably better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are truly impressive," says Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring public figures.

Numerous of the items based on luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just crazy," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he comments. "They will perform the basics to a reasonable level."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is very affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the professionals also recommend shoppers do their research and say that higher-priced products are at times worthy of the additional cost.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just funding the label and advertising - sometimes the higher price also comes from the components and their grade, the concentration of the key component, the technology used to produce the product, and studies into the item's performance, the expert explains.

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

Sometimes, she states they could have bulking agents that lack as many benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the premium version".

"Don't be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For potent products or ones with components that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests selecting medical-grade brands.

She explains these will likely have been through expensive tests to determine how successful they are.

Skincare products need to be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the company advertises about the effectiveness of the product, it requires research to support it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to perform the trials" and can instead cite evidence conducted by other companies, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Container

Are there any components that could signal a item is poor?

Ingredients on the back of the tube are ordered by concentration. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your mineral oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up