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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a fresh product collection that seemed akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her nearest shop to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the Augustinus Bader 50ml cream.

Its sleek blue packaging and gold lid of the two items look noticeably alike. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK buyers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recently published survey.

Lookalikes are beauty items that imitate well-known labels and offer affordable alternatives to high-end items. These products often have comparable names and packaging, but in some cases the formulas can vary substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Better'

Beauty professionals contend some substitutes to premium labels are reasonable quality and assist make beauty routines more affordable.

"In my opinion costlier is invariably superior," comments skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not all budget product line is bad - and not every premium beauty item is the top."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by luxury brands "disappear so fast, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional believes dupes are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he says. "They will handle the essentials to a reasonable degree."

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

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also recommend shoppers check details and state that costlier items are sometimes worthy of the extra money.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the brand and promotion - at times the higher price tag also comes from the components and their standard, the strength of the effective element, the research utilized to produce the product, and studies into the products' efficacy, she notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman argues it's important questioning how some alternatives can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could include bulking agents that lack as numerous advantages for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One big question mark is 'How is it so cheap?'" she remarks.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a established label but the item has "no resemblance to the premium version".

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

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For more complicated items or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C, Dr Bhate suggests using research-backed companies.

She states these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty items need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the performance of the item, it must have research to support it, "however the seller does not necessarily have to do the testing" and can instead reference studies conducted by different firms, she says.

Read the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could signal a item is poor?

Components on the label of the container are arranged by amount. "The baddies that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up