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Rachael Parnell

When a consumer learned Aldi was launching a fresh product collection that seemed comparable to offerings from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She rushed to her local store to purchase the supermarket face cream for a low price for 50ml - a fraction of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

Its sleek blue container and gold cap of each items look strikingly similar. While Rachael has not used the luxury cream, she says she's pleased by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK consumers say they've purchased a skincare or makeup alternative. This jumps to 44 percent among millennials and Gen Z, as per a recent survey.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate established companies and present budget-friendly alternatives to high-end products. These products frequently have similar branding and containers, but sometimes the ingredients can vary significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists say many substitutes to high-end labels are decent quality and help make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily superior," states dermatology expert one expert. "Not every affordable skincare brand is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the best."

"Some [dupes] are absolutely excellent," adds a skincare commentator, who presents a podcast with celebrities.

Many of the products inspired by luxury labels "run out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional thinks alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and face washes.

"Alternatives will serve a purpose," he explains. "They will perform the basics to a satisfactory level."

Ketaki Bhate, thinks you can spend less when seeking single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite inexpensive because there's not much that can be problematic," she says.

'Don't Be Influenced by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also advise consumers investigate and note that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the brand and promotion - often the elevated price also stems from the ingredients and their grade, the potency of the effective element, the technology employed to develop the item, and tests into the item's effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman suggests it's valuable thinking about how some alternatives can be offered so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she says they could have less effective components that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One major question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Expert Scott notes in some cases he's purchased skincare items that appear comparable to a established label but the product itself has "no resemblance to the original".

"Do not be convinced by the packaging," he added.

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For potent products or those with components that can inflame the skin if they're not formulated properly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using research-backed brands.

She states these typically have been subjected to expensive trials to assess how efficacious they are.

Beauty items must be assessed before they can be sold in the UK, says skin doctor Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label advertises about the efficacy of the item, it must have research to verify it, "but the seller doesn't always have to perform the trials" and can alternatively cite studies done by different brands, she says.

Examine the Label of the Pack

Is there any ingredients that could signal a item is inferior?

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