What’s something you buy which is cheap/basic that is really good?

[Earbogeys]

Mine is bars of unscented soap from (predictably) Aldi, and also Waitrose own salt and vinegar crisps.

What gems are in your life?

Superdrug own brand dry skin cream - soaks in way better than branded moisturisers
Sainsburys own brand cola
Lidl men’s spray deodorant, much less overpowering than the Sure one I used to buy DP

Alberto Balsam shampoo and conditioner - raspberry. My hair feels light and clean and looks great. Tried all the expensive ones and this is my fave.

Baby lotion.Takes any eye make up off including waterproof.A bottle lasts months and it doesn't make your eyes sting.

Cooking bacon
Aldi or Tesco bio washing up liquid
Morrisons value dishwasher tablets: almost exactly the same ingredients
as smol
Bar soaps were a bit of a disaster for us, they never dried out long enough to prevent them breaking down.

Soapnuts- a kilo bag lasts me about 7-8 months and that's with the washing machine on daily

Any supermarket value cream cleaner. Works a treat on my ceramic hob and us exactly the same as the expensive hob cleaner stuff

DH uses the big bottles of radox watered down slightly as shower gel

Rice in 25kg sacks. It tends to work out about 65p a kilo for decent basmati rice this way. I transfer what we need into a rice container in the kitchen. The sack gets the top rolled down, taped shut and then stored in a storage tub in the garage with a firmly closing lid and a brick on the top.

I use Lidl own brand pasta sauces, about 45p a jar, I think they are better than Dolmio or Ragu. I also use soap and own brand washing powder like previous posters.

Seconding cheap white vinegar for cleaning. I use it in a spray bottle, buy in bulk from Ebay or Amazon. Makes window cleaning especially easy.

Ditto to Astral Cream. My DM swore by it, her skin was always very good, and I much prefer it to Nivea - softer and less greasy-feeling. I often use it as a body moisturiser, great for arms and legs, and the big pots I find in Savers are very cheap.

Wilko Essence fake lash mascara - about £3 and better than pretty much any other one I've tried!

A microwave rice cooker! Was going to buy an electric one but then discovered these, only a few quid, takes up very little space, and you get perfect lovely fluffy rice every time. You don't have to keep an eye on it, stir it or anything as it cooks, it's just easy peasy and the proper (cheap) cooked rice is so delicious compared to the pouches which I had been buying

www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/household-appliances/cooking/microwave-accessories/sistema-round-2-6-litre-rice-steamer-21921879-pdt.html

@PurpleDaisies

Superdrug naturally radiant skincare range. I switched from Estée Lauder and my skin has never been better.

I use the cleansing balm from this range (the kind you take off with a cloth) and I love it. Cheap, smells nice, luxurious texture.

@Rina66 try sassy shop wax melts (they have an online shop) they do a couple of 'unstoppable' scents, personally I find them so true to the original that the other day I had one lit and it tricked my brain into thinking I had already done the laundry!

Think the melts are £3ish but they are quite big and are designed to snap into smaller pieces so are actually about 5 uses per one.

@Caramellatteplease I had an issue with bar soap, I bought a lovely wooden soap dish with slots to allow for drainage but it was always slimy and cause brown slime marks from the soap dish onto the white sink. I got a 'Smiths Soap Saver/Lifter' from amazon for less than £5 and it has totally solved the issue (found it in a random buzzfeed article of all places)

Sorry not the point of the thread

In our house we like the lidl spray cooking oils - prevents heavy handed bottle pouring but my DH hates the frylight sprays apparently they ruin the non stick (he is the family chef so I defer to him on this) - you can get olive or sunflower I think.

Aldi part baked bread is the best I have ever found and they have a good range too. Also a fan of their little chocolate bars.

I make my own eco spray for the kitchen (white vinegar and lemon). When I need to bring out the big guns, I have a little bottle of Zoflora under the sink. Dilute it with 4 parts water. Cheap and reliable!

Oh and one more vote here for a soap saver.

Oh also Boots Essentials Curl Creme £2 for a tub and you only need a tiny bit so it lasts ages! (Too much and you get crispy curls)

I have wavy/curly hair and am a total sucker for fancy beauty stuff but every time I have tried a fancy replacement it is never quite as good and normally 10 times the price.

Packet stuffing from Tesco - tastes amazing, stretches the roast chicken (I never seem to have an everlasting mumsnet chicken) and is about 45p a box

Superdrug simple pure hydration face serum
Bargain, hydrating, not heavy and goes well under any moisturiser

I look forward to coming back to this thread.

Mine are value crisps- small bags and low in salt.
Also Tesco essentials soap- 15p, very creamy, not too perfumed and leaves my skin soft.

My hot water bottle

Garnier handrepair intensive restoring hand cream. £2 on Amazon (delivered free with Prime), works beautifully, smells nice, wouldn't be without it.

Also my top rice cooking tip: 2 parts rice to 3 parts cold water, place in pan, lid on, bring to boil then turn to low for 10 mins. Then switch off the heat and leave for 10 mins. Do not take the lid off at any point. Works absolutely every time, perfect fluffy rice. No need for pre-cooked pouches, rice cookers or anything.

Nivea Q10 when it on offer.
Nice and Easy root touch up, I used to pay £50 a month to get my roots done. I’ve done my own colour since the first lockdown and it looks exactly the same.

@Rina66 this shop does unstoppable scented wax melts they're really good

https://www.etsy.com/shop/Lushesmelts?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=802888949

@StarryNightSparkles

Alberto Balsam shampoo and conditioner. Think they are £1 a bottle. My hair looks and feels fab plus it smells lovely. Since I started using it my hair has no tangles.

Same, it’s amazing!

I use the Boots Essentials Curl Creme on DD's hair. Cheap & easy even for a relatively inexperienced person like me (I have straight hair!)

From Savers - antihistamines. I have to take them all year as I'm allergic to pollen, fungal spores - pretty much everything airborne makes me sneeze & wheeze. A pound for 30, much cheaper than buying branded.

ASDA Kind and Gentle skincare, I use the moisturiser, cleansing lotion, and make, and eye make up remover, all £1 each, and the face wash which is £1.50.

When I get complimented on my "flawless" skin, no-one ever believes it when I say I use those ASDA products, but I do.