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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper learned Aldi was selling a recent beauty line that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her local store to buy the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of each creams look strikingly comparable. And though Rachael has never tried the premium cream, she says she's impressed by the alternative so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from high street stores and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

More than a quarter of UK buyers report they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recently published study.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and offer budget-friendly substitutes to premium products. They frequently have similar names and packaging, but occasionally the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Isn't Always Superior'

Beauty professionals say many alternatives to premium labels are decent standard and help make beauty routines more affordable.

"I don't think costlier is always more effective," comments dermatology expert one expert. "Not all low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every luxury beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with celebrities.

Numerous of the products based on high-end brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist another professional argues alternatives are suitable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like HA, Vitamin B3 and squalane.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in using a budget alternative or something which is very affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Do Not Be Influenced by the Box'

Yet the professionals also recommend consumers check details and state that more expensive products are occasionally worthy of the additional cost.

With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the name and marketing - sometimes the increased cost also comes from the formula and their standard, the potency of the key component, the technology used to develop the product, and trials into the products' performance, Dr Belmo explains.

Facialist she suggests it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she says they may contain less effective components that lack as significant benefits for the skin, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

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

Expert McGlynn says on occasion he's bought beauty products that appear similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "no connection to the premium version".

"Don't be sold by the outer appearance," he added.

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Regarding potent products or those with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, she recommends sticking to research-backed companies.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to costly trials to determine how efficacious they are.

Skincare products must be assessed before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

When the company advertises about the performance of the product, it needs data to support it, "however the seller doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively use evidence done by different companies, she says.

Check the Label of the Container

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

Ingredients on the label of the container are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up