The £7 Aldi moisturiser that’s (nearly) as good as a £292 cream

My new face cream is smooth, lavishly packaged and contains caviar — the most exclusive of all the top- end anti-ageing ingredients. It glides on like a dream, and keeps my skin dewy all day.

no doubt, you must be thinking, it’s another £500 pot that’s come to me as a perk of being a beauty editor. But you couldn’t be more wrong.

Rather, my new moisturiser — the Lacura Caviar Illumination Day Cream — is by Aldi, and costs just £6.99 for a 50 ml pot.

when I heard that the budget supermarket was introducing a luxury, anti-ageing skincare range featuring caviar, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

In fact, I was so desperate to try it out I was at the front of the queue when samples were given to the beauty press and was the first person in Britain to give it a go.

My ardour was borne of the fact that I love a bargain — and know just how good Aldi’s beauty products are.

Lacura Caviar Illumination, which goes on sale on Sunday, is a new firming skincare range with anti-ageing properties. each product contains caviar extract, which is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals that pep up the skin and is well-known as a powerful anti-ageing active ingredient.

The most famous other caviar range is the La Prairie Skin Caviar Collection, with its distinctive glass jars and silver lids.

ALDI has cl early been inspired by this, as the products look remarkably similar — save that the La Prairie creams come with a dinky spatula for application. But there is one striking difference: a 50 ml pot of the La Prairie equivalent — Skin Caviar Luxe Cream Sheer — costs a whopping £292 ( laprairie.co.uk).

So, how do they compare? To find out, I tested both creams for four weeks — the correct length of time you should spend to see if any product really works. As I often do with skincare products, I tried one on each side of my face — the La Prairie cream on the left and the Aldi one on the right.

I f ound the Lacura Caviar Illumination Day Cream has a very l i ght texture, i s easily absorbed and can be worn underneath foundation without any streaking.

It i s deeply moisturising — scientific studies found that skin increases hydration after four hours by up to 58 per cent, resulting in improved elasticity and smoother skin.

It smells nice, too, which is always a bonus, and there was no fishy odour.

So, what about the La Prairie equivalent? I must admit, I love its new Skin Caviar Luxe Cream Sheer. It glides on effortlessly, and leaves my skin feeling like the most expensive, finest silk. The smallest amount makes me feel fabulously pampered, and I would love to use this all the time — if only I could afford the eyewatering price tag.

But could I spot the difference? yes — once both creams were on my skin, I could tell which one was La Prairie: it is a light honey colour, compared with the pure white of the Aldi one, and, although it has a light texture, you don’t need to use much: the pot will last a long time.

I suspect that you would need to use more of the Aldi product each time — but, at £6.99 a pot, this isn’t much of a problem, and you could afford to use it every day. They also smell very similar.

After using the creams for four weeks, I think both have done a good job. Looking closely at my face in my x15 magnifying mirror, I can see a smoothness and gleam to my skin that wasn’t there before — on both sides. I can see a slight softening of wrinkles, too — the lines on the La Prairie side seem slightly l ess noticeable, compared with those on the Aldi side — however, it’s not a massive difference.

Besides caviar extract, the La Prairie cream has a firming complex t hat st imulates the production of collagen — after eight weeks, t here will be significant lifting in the cheek area and jawline.

I have only used it for four weeks, but the skin around my jaw on the left side does already feel a bit firmer — something the Aldi cream hasn’t quite achieved. nevertheless, I predict that anyone who has ever lusted over La Prairie products, but can’t — or won’t — spend hundreds of pounds on skincare will be rushing to fill their trolleys with the Aldi one.

I have a feeling it will create a stampede in stores up and down the country.

The Aldi range also includes a luxurious night cream with a rich texture — Lacura Caviar Illumination night Cream (£6.99). This contains snow algae extract, which further helps to reduce the visible signs of ageing.

This looks exactly the same as the La Prairie cream I tried — the only difference is that the lid is deeper on the La Prairie one.

The Aldi range also features a three-minute mask (£6.99), a concentrated intensive treatment (£7.99) and a gift set (£12.99).

They hit the shops on Sunday as Specialbuys, so once they’re gone, they are gone — and trust me, these won’t be staying on shelves for long. Race you to the tills . . .