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Rachael Parnell

Upon hearing Rachael Parnell found out Aldi was selling a fresh beauty line that appeared akin to products from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "extremely excited".

The shopper hurried to her closest store to pick up the supermarket face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

The sleek blue packaging and gold lid of each products look remarkably similar. Although Rachael has never tried the luxury cream, she claims she's impressed by the product so far.

Rachael has been buying skincare dupes from mainstream retailers and supermarkets for a long time, and she's in good company.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've tried a skincare or makeup lookalike. This jumps to nearly half among millennials and Gen Z, according to a recent poll.

Alternatives are skincare products that imitate well-known brands and provide cost-effective options to luxury products. They often have alike labels and design, but in some cases the formulas can vary considerably.

Victoria Woollaston

'Costly Isn't Necessarily Superior'

Skincare specialists argue many alternatives to premium brands are good quality and aid make skincare more affordable.

"I don't think higher-priced is necessarily better," says consultant dermatologist one expert. "Not every low-budget beauty label is inferior - and not every high-end skincare product is the top."

"A number of [dupes] are truly excellent," adds Scott McGlynn, who runs a program with famous people.

Numerous of the items based on high-end brands "sell out so fast, it's just insane," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Skin specialist a doctor believes alternatives are acceptable to use for "simple routines" like moisturisers and cleansers.

"Alternatives will do the job," he comments. "They will perform the basics to a reasonable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, thinks you can save money when searching for simple-formula items like HA, niacinamide and squalane.

"When you're buying a single-ingredient item then you're probably going to be okay in using a budget alternative or a product which is fairly inexpensive because there's not much that can go wrong," she adds.

'Do Not Be Swayed by the Box'

But the professionals also recommend buyers investigate and state that higher-priced items are sometimes worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not only paying for the name and promotion - at times the increased cost also stems from the components and their standard, the concentration of the key component, the research utilized to produce the product, and trials into the item's efficacy, Dr Belmo explains.

Beauty expert another professional argues it's valuable considering how certain alternatives can be priced so cheaply.

In some cases, she believes they could have bulking agents that do not provide as numerous advantages for the complexion, or the components might not be as well sourced.

"One big doubt is 'Why is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Podcast host Scott notes sometimes he's purchased beauty products that look similar to a well-known brand but the item has "little similarity to the original".

"Don't be fooled by the packaging," he added.

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For advanced products or ones with components that can aggravate the skin if they're not created correctly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist advises using research-backed brands.

She explains these will likely have been through expensive studies to evaluate how effective they are.

Skincare items are required to be assessed before they can be available in the UK, explains consultant dermatologist Emma Wedgeworth.

If the brand states about the efficacy of the item, it needs evidence to verify it, "however the seller doesn't always have to perform the testing" and can alternatively reference evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Check the Back of the Container

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

Components on the back of the container are listed by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your mineral oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up