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Rachael Parnell

After discovering one shopper found out Aldi was launching a new product collection that seemed similar to items from luxury brand Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest outlet to buy the store-brand face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 cost of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

Its smooth blue container and gold top of both creams look remarkably similar. And though she has not used the luxury cream, she claims she's satisfied by the product so far.

She has been using skincare dupes from high street stores and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

Over a 25% of UK consumers say they've tried a skincare or makeup dupe. This rises to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a recently published survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that mimic bigger name companies and provide affordable alternatives to high-end products. They typically have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the components can change considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Skincare experts argue certain substitutes to high-end labels are reasonable quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"It is not true that higher-priced is necessarily better," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not all budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every high-end beauty item is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who hosts a program about celebrities.

A lot of of the products inspired by luxury brands "disappear so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor a doctor believes dupes are fine to use for "basic skincare" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he comments. "These items will perform the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when searching for simple-formula products like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"If you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be fine in opting for a lookalike or something which is quite low cost because there's not much that can cause issues," she explains.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Container'

However the professionals also advise buyers do their research and note that more expensive items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With high-end beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and advertising - sometimes the higher price tag also comes from the formula and their quality, the concentration of the key component, the research utilized to create the item, and studies into the item's efficacy, the expert notes.

Skin therapist Rhian Truman suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so cheaply.

In some cases, she states they might contain filler ingredients that lack as significant advantages for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One major doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Expert McGlynn says sometimes he's purchased skincare items that appear similar to a big-name brand but the product itself has "little similarity to the luxury product".

"Do not be sold by the packaging," he warned.

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For advanced products or those with ingredients that can inflame the skin if they're not created properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C, she recommends sticking to medical-grade labels.

She states these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to assess how effective they are.

Beauty products are required to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, notes expert Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the performance of the item, it must have data to support it, "however the brand doesn't necessarily have to perform the testing" and can alternatively cite studies completed by other firms, she clarifies.

Check the Label of the Bottle

Is there any components that could indicate a product is inferior?

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