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Rachael Parnell

When Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was selling a new skincare range that appeared comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest shop to purchase the supermarket face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 cost of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue tube and gold cap of both creams look noticeably similar. While she has not used the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the dupe so far.

She has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers report they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This increases to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent study.

Dupes are skincare products that mimic bigger name labels and present affordable options to luxury products. They typically have comparable branding and containers, but occasionally the formulas can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals contend some substitutes to luxury labels are good quality and aid make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is invariably better," states skin specialist one expert. "Not every affordable beauty label is inferior - and not every premium beauty item is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely impressive," adds a podcast host, who hosts a show with celebrities.

Many of the products modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just unbelievable," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable level."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient products like HA, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can cause issues," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Box'

But the specialists also recommend shoppers check details and state that more expensive items are occasionally worth the premium price.

With luxury skincare, you're not just covering the brand and advertising - often the elevated cost also is due to the formula and their grade, the concentration of the active ingredient, the technology employed to create the item, and tests into the products' performance, she says.

Beauty expert another professional says it's important questioning how some dupes can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they could have less effective components that don't have as numerous benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"One major uncertainty is 'How is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits in some cases he's bought skincare items that look comparable to a big-name brand but the product itself has "no connection to the luxury product".

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

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For more complicated products or those with components that can irritate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinoids or vitamin C, Dr Bhate advises using research-backed labels.

The expert explains these typically have been through costly tests to assess how successful they are.

Beauty products need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

When the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to back it up, "however the brand does not necessarily have to perform the testing" and can instead cite evidence completed by other brands, she says.

Check the Ingredients List of the Pack

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

Components on the list of the bottle are listed by concentration. "The baddies that you should avoid… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up