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Rachael Parnell

When one shopper found out Aldi was launching a recent beauty line that seemed similar to items from premium company Augustinus Bader, she was "incredibly excited".

The shopper dashed to her local outlet to pick up the store-brand face cream for under £9 for 50ml - a tiny percentage of the £240 of the high-end 50ml cream.

Its smooth blue packaging and gold top of each products look noticeably comparable. While Rachael has not tested the premium cream, she claims she's pleased by the dupe so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for years, and she's not alone.

More than a fourth of UK buyers say they've bought a beauty or cosmetic alternative. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recently published poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that mimic established companies and provide budget-friendly options to high-end products. These products typically have comparable labels and design, but occasionally the ingredients can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Better'

Beauty experts say certain substitutes to high-end brands are decent quality and help make beauty routines cheaper.

"In my opinion more expensive is invariably superior," comments skin specialist one expert. "Not all budget beauty label is poor - and not all luxury skincare product is the finest."

"A number of [dupes] are absolutely amazing," says a podcast host, who runs a podcast featuring celebrities.

Many of the items modeled on high-end brands "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert another professional argues alternatives are fine to use for "basic skincare" like hydrators and cleansers.

"Dupes will be effective," he comments. "They will do the fundamentals to a reasonable level."

Ketaki Bhate, suggests you can spend less when you're looking for single-ingredient products like hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B3 and a moisturizing ingredient.

"If you're purchasing a simple item then you're probably going to be alright in using a dupe or something which is quite inexpensive because there's minimal that can go wrong," she explains.

'Do Not Be Sold by the Packaging'

Yet the professionals also advise buyers check details and note that more expensive products are occasionally worth the premium price.

With high-end skincare, you're not just funding the name and marketing - sometimes the higher cost also comes from the ingredients and their quality, the strength of the key component, the science utilized to develop the item, and tests into the products' performance, Dr Belmo notes.

Skin therapist another professional says it's valuable questioning how some dupes can be sold so inexpensively.

Occasionally, she says they could have filler ingredients that don't have as many benefits for the skin, or the ingredients might not be as well sourced.

"One big question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she says.

Podcast host Scott admits sometimes he's purchased beauty products that appear comparable to a big-name label but the item has "no resemblance to the original".

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

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Regarding more complicated products or ones with ingredients that can aggravate the complexion if they're not formulated accurately, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, the specialist recommends selecting medical-grade brands.

She states these typically have been through comprehensive studies to evaluate how efficacious they are.

Skincare items need to be assessed before they can be marketed in the UK, says expert another professional.

When the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the product, it needs research to support it, "but the brand doesn't always have to do the trials" and can instead cite evidence conducted by other brands, she says.

Check the Back of the Container

Are there any ingredients that could suggest a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the back of the container are ordered by concentration. "Ingredients to avoid that you should be wary of… is your petroleum-derived oil, your sodium lauryl sulfate, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up