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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was launching a fresh beauty line that looked akin to products from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her local store to purchase the store-brand face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml item.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold top of each creams look remarkably comparable. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been using lookalike products from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

Over a fourth of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a recent survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that mimic well-known companies and present cost-effective substitutes to high-end products. These products frequently have alike branding and containers, but sometimes the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Better'

Skincare specialists say certain substitutes to premium labels are reasonable quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily superior," says dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not every affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not every premium skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are really amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who hosts a show with public figures.

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

Scott McGlynn

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

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when seeking simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

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

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the specialists also recommend consumers do their research and note that higher-priced items are at times worth the additional cost.

Regarding high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and marketing - often the elevated price also stems from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the effective element, the research employed to create the product, and tests into the item's effectiveness, the expert explains.

Beauty expert another professional says it's worth considering how certain dupes can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they might include filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One key doubt is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott admits sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For advanced items or ones with ingredients that can inflame the complexion if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she suggests selecting medical-grade brands.

The expert states these probably have been through costly trials to assess how effective they are.

Beauty items are required to be tested before they can be available in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the efficacy of the product, it needs evidence to back it up, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively cite testing completed by other companies, she clarifies.

Examine the Label of the Container

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

Components on the back of the bottle are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up