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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard Aldi was launching a new beauty line that looked akin to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml cream.

The smooth blue tube and gold cap of both creams look remarkably comparable. While she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK consumers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to 44 percent among 18-34 year olds, as per a February poll.

Dupes are skincare products that copy established companies and present affordable substitutes to luxury items. They frequently have alike names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty specialists argue some dupes to high-end labels are decent standard and assist make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think more expensive is invariably superior," states consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not every budget product line is bad - and not all high-end skincare product is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a podcast featuring famous people.

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues alternatives are fine to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he comments. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can spend less when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is very inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

However the specialists also advise consumers check details and say that costlier products are sometimes worth the extra money.

Regarding luxury skincare, you're not just paying for the name and marketing - sometimes the elevated price also comes from the components and their standard, the strength of the key component, the technology employed to produce the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo explains.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's worth thinking about how some dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

In some cases, she believes they could have less effective components that do not provide as significant positive effects for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

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

Commentator Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a well-known brand but the actual formula has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the container," he added.

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Regarding advanced items or those with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C, she suggests selecting more specialised companies.

The expert says these typically have been subjected to comprehensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare products need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist another professional.

If the company states about the effectiveness of the product, it must have evidence to support it, "but the seller doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can instead cite evidence completed by different firms, she clarifies.

Check the Ingredients List of the Container

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

Ingredients on the list of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up