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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper heard Aldi was offering a new beauty line that looked similar to offerings from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

The shopper dashed to her nearest shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 price tag of the luxury brand 50ml cream.

The sleek blue container and gold cap of the two products look strikingly alike. While Rachael has not used the high-end cream, she states she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a quarter of UK consumers state they've bought a beauty or cosmetic lookalike. This rises to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, according to a February survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic well-known labels and provide affordable substitutes to premium items. These products frequently have similar labels and design, but sometimes the formulas can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Necessarily Better'

Beauty experts say many dupes to luxury brands are reasonable standard and help make beauty routines less expensive.

"I don't think costlier is always superior," comments dermatology expert Sharon Belmo. "Not all low-budget product line is inferior - and not every luxury skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are truly amazing," adds a skincare commentator, who runs a program with famous people.

Many of the products modeled on high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert a doctor thinks alternatives are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and face washes.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the essentials to a acceptable degree."

Another skin doctor, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a budget alternative or something which is quite affordable because there's very little that can go wrong," she says.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

Yet the professionals also recommend consumers check details and say that higher-priced products are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only funding the name and marketing - at times the higher cost also is due to the components and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the technology used to create the product, and tests into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert she suggests it's worth thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so cheaply.

Sometimes, she says they might contain bulking agents that don't have as many advantages for the skin, or the materials might not be as high-quality.

"The key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator McGlynn admits in some cases he's purchased skincare items that look comparable to a big-name label but the item has "no connection to the original".

"Don't be convinced by the outer appearance," he cautioned.

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Regarding potent items or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not made accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she suggests sticking to more specialised labels.

She says these probably have been subjected to costly tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare products must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the company states about the performance of the item, it requires data to verify it, "however the seller does not always have to do the testing" and can instead cite studies done by different companies, she adds.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

Are there any components that could suggest a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the bottle are arranged by amount. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up