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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing one shopper learned Aldi was launching a recent product collection that appeared similar to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

She dashed to her nearest outlet to buy the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue packaging and gold lid of the two products look strikingly alike. Although Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the alternative so far.

Rachael has been using beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for a long time, and she's not alone.

More than a 25% of UK consumers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This increases to 44% among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent survey.

Alternatives are beauty items that imitate established brands and provide budget-friendly alternatives to luxury items. They often have comparable names and packaging, but sometimes the ingredients can differ considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Beauty experts contend certain dupes to high-end brands are good quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"I don't think costlier is invariably better," says dermatology expert one expert. "Not every budget skincare brand is inferior - and not every high-end skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are absolutely amazing," adds a podcast host, who presents a program featuring celebrities.

Many of the products inspired by high-end brands "run out so quickly, it's just insane," he observes.

Scott McGlynn

Aesthetic and dermatology doctor Ross Perry argues alternatives are fine to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and face washes.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "They will handle the fundamentals to a reasonable degree."

Another skin doctor, suggests you can cut costs when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple product then you're likely going to be alright in opting for a budget alternative or a product which is quite low cost because there's minimal that can be problematic," she explains.

'Don't Be Sold by the Container'

However the experts also suggest buyers investigate and state that higher-priced items are occasionally worthy of the extra money.

With high-end skincare, you're not only covering the brand and advertising - often the elevated cost also stems from the formula and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science used to create the item, and studies into the products' efficacy, she says.

Beauty expert another professional suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be sold so at a low cost.

Occasionally, she states they might have less effective components that do not provide as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One key question mark is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn admits sometimes he's bought beauty products that look similar to a well-known label but the actual formula has "little similarity to the luxury product".

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

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Regarding advanced items or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, she advises selecting research-backed labels.

The expert explains these will likely have been subjected to comprehensive trials to assess how effective they are.

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

If the brand advertises about the efficacy of the product, it must have research to verify it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to do the trials" and can instead cite evidence completed by other firms, she says.

Read the Back of the Bottle

Is there any ingredients that could indicate a item is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the tube are ordered by amount. "The baddies that you want to be wary of… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up