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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing a consumer heard Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper dashed to her local shop to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml product.

The streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of the two products look noticeably alike. Although she has never tried the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

Rachael has been purchasing beauty alternatives from high street stores and grocery stores for years, and she's not alone.

Over a 25% of UK buyers say they've purchased a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February survey.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic bigger name labels and present budget-friendly options to high-end products. They frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the components can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Superior'

Beauty specialists argue some dupes to luxury labels are reasonable standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably better," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all budget skincare brand is bad - and not every luxury skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," notes Scott McGlynn, who presents a program featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the items based on luxury brands "sell out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional believes dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

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

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when you're looking for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple product then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a lookalike or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's minimal that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

However the professionals also recommend shoppers do their research and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the extra money.

With premium skincare, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - often the higher price also is due to the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the technology used to create the item, and tests into the item's efficacy, she explains.

Facialist she says it's important considering how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

Sometimes, she believes they could have filler ingredients that don't have as significant benefits for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"The major doubt is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Commentator McGlynn says sometimes he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a established brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated items or those with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate recommends selecting more specialised brands.

She states these typically have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

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

When the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs evidence to support it, "however the manufacturer doesn't always have to do the testing" and can alternatively cite studies completed by different companies, she adds.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any ingredients that could indicate a item is poor?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzel peroxide" being {high up