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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper heard Aldi was launching a recent product collection that seemed akin to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper rushed to her local outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 price tag of the high-end 50ml product.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold cap of the two products look remarkably alike. And though she has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's impressed by the product so far.

She has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for years, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK consumers say they've bought a skincare or makeup dupe. This increases to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, according to a February study.

Dupes are skincare products that imitate bigger name labels and offer budget-friendly alternatives to luxury products. They frequently have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can change significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'Expensive Is Not Always Better'

Skincare professionals say certain alternatives to high-end labels are good standard and aid make beauty routines less expensive.

"In my opinion more expensive is always better," says skin specialist Sharon Belmo. "Not every low-budget product line is inferior - and not all high-end beauty item is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are really impressive," says a skincare commentator, who hosts a podcast with famous people.

Numerous of the items modeled on luxury brands "sell out so rapidly, it's just insane," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like moisturisers and face washes.

"Alternatives will be effective," he explains. "These items will handle the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

Ketaki Bhate, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for single-ingredient items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be alright in opting for a dupe or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's very little that can cause issues," she says.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also advise consumers do their research and say that higher-priced products are sometimes worth the premium price.

With premium beauty products, you're not only paying for the label and advertising - sometimes the higher cost also is due to the formula and their grade, the potency of the key component, the technology employed to create the item, and tests into the products' effectiveness, the expert says.

Beauty expert Rhian Truman says it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be priced so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she believes they may contain filler ingredients that do not provide as many benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as high-quality.

"The major uncertainty is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she asks.

Commentator Scott says in some cases he's bought beauty products that look comparable to a big-name brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Don't be convinced by the packaging," he warned.

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Regarding more complicated items or ones with ingredients that can irritate the skin if they're not made correctly, such as retinoids or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate suggests using medical-grade labels.

The expert says these probably have been subjected to comprehensive tests to evaluate how effective they are.

Beauty products need to be tested before they can be sold in the UK, explains skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have evidence to verify it, "but the brand does not always have to conduct the testing" and can alternatively use testing conducted by different firms, she says.

Read the Label of the Pack

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

Components on the label of the container are arranged by concentration. "Potential irritants that you need to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up