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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell learned Aldi was offering a fresh beauty line that seemed comparable to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

Rachael dashed to her closest shop to pick up the Lacura face cream for a low price for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the Augustinus Bader 50ml item.

The sleek blue tube and gold lid of the two products look remarkably similar. And though Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she states she's impressed by the dupe so far.

Rachael has been buying beauty alternatives from mainstream retailers and grocery stores for some time, and she's part of a trend.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This jumps to nearly half among 18-34 year olds, based on a recent poll.

Dupes are beauty items that mimic established brands and provide cost-effective alternatives to luxury products. These products typically have similar branding and containers, but occasionally the components can differ substantially.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Is Not Always Better'

Beauty professionals say certain dupes to high-end labels are good standard and help make skincare less expensive.

"I don't think higher-priced is always more effective," says skin specialist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is bad - and not every high-end skincare product is the finest."

"Some [dupes] are truly impressive," notes Scott McGlynn, who runs a show featuring celebrities.

Numerous of the products inspired by high-end brands "sell out so quickly, it's just unbelievable," he remarks.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist Ross Perry believes dupes are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Dupes will serve a purpose," he explains. "These items will perform the basics to a satisfactory degree."

Another skin doctor, advises you can cut costs when you're looking for simple-formula items like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're likely going to be okay in using a dupe or something which is very affordable because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

But the professionals also suggest buyers do their research and note that more expensive products are occasionally worth the additional cost.

Regarding premium beauty products, you're not just funding the label and advertising - at times the higher price tag also is due to the formula and their standard, the concentration of the effective element, the science utilized to produce the product, and tests into the products' effectiveness, the expert says.

Beauty expert she suggests it's important considering how some dupes can be priced so inexpensively.

In some cases, she states they could have less effective components that don't have as significant positive effects for the complexion, or the components might not be as carefully selected.

"The major uncertainty is 'Why is it so cheap?'" she says.

Podcast host McGlynn notes on occasion he's bought beauty products that look similar to a established label but the actual formula has "no resemblance to the premium version".

"Do not be fooled by the container," he cautioned.

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For advanced products or those with components that can inflame the complexion if they're not made properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises sticking to medical-grade companies.

She says these typically have been through costly trials to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items need to be evaluated before they can be sold in the UK, notes consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the label makes claims about the performance of the product, it must have data to support it, "but the seller does not always have to conduct the testing" and can instead use evidence conducted by different firms, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

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

Components on the list of the tube are arranged by amount. "Potential irritants that you should look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, parfum, benzoyl peroxide" being {high up