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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was launching a recent product collection that appeared akin to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her nearest outlet to purchase the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml product.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold lid of the two creams look remarkably comparable. And though Rachael has not used the premium cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing skincare dupes from popular shops and grocery stores for years, and she's in good company.

Over a quarter of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44% among younger adults, based on a recent study.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic bigger name labels and provide budget-friendly alternatives to luxury items. They frequently have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare professionals argue many dupes to luxury labels are good standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"In my opinion higher-priced is always better," comments skin specialist a doctor. "Not every budget beauty label is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast with public figures.

Many of the items based on high-end brands "run out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "These items will do the basics to a satisfactory level."

Another skin doctor, advises you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Container'

But the specialists also suggest consumers check details and note that costlier items are sometimes worth the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - at times the higher price tag also comes from the components and their quality, the potency of the active ingredient, the science employed to produce the item, and trials into the products' performance, she notes.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's worth considering how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Sometimes, she says they may contain filler ingredients that do not provide as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major question mark is 'Why is it so low-priced?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear similar to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the premium version".

"Do not be sold by the container," he warned.

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For advanced products or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises sticking to more specialised brands.

She states these typically have been through comprehensive studies to determine how effective they are.

Beauty products must be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have data to support it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively reference studies completed by different brands, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the bottle are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up