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Rachael Parnell

After discovering Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was launching a fresh skincare range that looked akin to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

She hurried to her closest store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of the two products look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic well-known companies and provide budget-friendly substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have comparable labels and design, but in some cases the components can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty specialists argue certain alternatives to premium labels are decent quality and aid make skincare cheaper.

"In my opinion costlier is necessarily more effective," says dermatology expert a doctor. "Not every low-budget product line is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program about famous people.

A lot of of the items modeled on high-end labels "disappear so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he says. "These items will handle the basics to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can save money when searching for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a dupe or a product which is quite low cost because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Container'

However the specialists also advise consumers investigate and note that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not just funding the name and promotion - at times the increased price tag also is due to the components and their quality, the concentration of the active ingredient, the science employed to develop the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Skin therapist another professional suggests it's important thinking about how some alternatives can be priced so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she states they might contain bulking agents that don't have as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the materials might not be as carefully selected.

"One big question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

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Regarding potent items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, the specialist advises using medical-grade brands.

She explains these will likely have been through expensive studies to determine how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it needs data to support it, "but the seller does not necessarily have to conduct the testing" and can instead reference testing done by other companies, she adds.

Examine the Label of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the list of the tube are ordered by amount. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up