To stick with my budget moisturiser?

[buddhasbelly]

In town yesterday looking at some of the fancy beauty counter moisturizers, I was tempted to buy a fancy number at £26...

But then this morning looking at my skin, it's not dry (been drinking more water which seems to make a huge difference amd don't drink alcohol), nor do I have any spots.

I'm just using the nivea soft one with vit E and jojoba, mixed in with a wee bit of suncream, was 2 or 3 pounds.

But the shiny packaging and lovely smelling potions were tempting...they're just a marketing con aren't they? convince me not to spend £26

Just to add a high facial Sun screen worn EVERY SINGLE DAY is a massive anti aging product as is Retinol but you need to start off low with Retinol and only use at night a couple times a week plus it's a complete must that when using Retinol products you need to use spf daily or you're skin will end up worse.

The Superdrug sensitive skin serum is about £3 and is just as good as the Vichy one I used to buy for £20.

YANBU. My holy grail skincare is the Superdrug night hydrating serum. Less than £4 and nothing I've ever tried anywhere else has come close.

I don't think creams are a con overall, I certainly find that my simple skincare routine makes my skin clearer, less oily, fewer spots, and feel more comfortable. But my entire routine is about £20-30 if that for the lot. Boots hot cloth cleanser (no 7: which also smells and feels sooooo nice it's like a spa treatment), a zinc toner by (I think) la roche posay, Superdrug serum and boots simply sensitive eye cream (£1.50).

Skincare makes a huge difference unless you're blessed with naturally amazing skin but i don't believe there's much difference between cheap and expensive skincare at all. What works for each individual differs but I firmly believe you can find a routine to work for you at a cheap price point and I don't think more expensive products really work all that much better if at all!

"I've no doubt if I hadn't I'd still have good skin for my age but I've better skin because I did. "

How do you know that's true, though? You'd need to apply the ultra-expensive stuff to one half of your face and keep going with whatever you were doing before on the other half (and you'd have to have them in identical pots so you couldn't tell which was which) to be able to assess what difference there was.

When you say you 'upped your game' when the fine lines started appearing - what difference did you see? It sounds to me like you've just got good skin and that would be the case whether you spent loads or hardly anything.

I've got OK skin and it's mostly genetics I think, along with being a sun-fearing Celtic type. I use Simple day cream because it's cheap and doesn't smell of anything.

I've had awful problems with my skin over the years, dry flaky sore areas and greasy spotty others! I have tried all sorts of everything and at time felt like scratching my face off! At the grand old age of 49 I have finally settled in stuff that works for me! Ultrabland cleanser and rosewater toner, from lush. followed by boots no7 moisturiser and serum. It is more expensive but absolutely nothing else I have tried has worked for me any longer than 2-3 months. I've been doing this combination for about 18 months and my skin feels fab everything lasts a long time and I'm not wasting money by throwing out stuff that just doesn't work.

You’re lucky!

I have very dry skin and after years of trying out different moisturisers the only one which works - actually works - is the Clinique moisture surge. It’s about £30 but it’s the only one I’ve ever had which gets rid of the dry flakes on my face, the cheapy ones unfortunately just don’t do the job.

But if it ain’t broke - don’t fix it!

there was a programme on BBC recently with Cherry Healy looking at different make up products and seeing if the more expensive stuff was any different. They did some experiment with a scientist and different moisturisers and a Nivea one I think came out as the most moisturising and the expensive one didn't actually help the skin!

Using any basic cold cream moisturiser twice a day every single day, after cleansing and rinsing well, will achieve probably 80% of the results of spending £100's and £100's. its the consistency that matters, frankly.

I've tried all sorts of pricey moisturisers and the only thing that seems to work for me is Nivea Soft. The last time I bought it, I got a huge tub for £4, it lasts me about 4 months.

I use aveeno also.

If you don't need it, don't waste your money!

My skincare costs me about £1.50 a month...I use Dove soap to clean my face and a tin of Nivea moisturiser.

My skin has never looked better!

The programmer on BBC with the “research” was very poor - no mention of the array of other issues that impact skin hydration at all and the “expensive moisturizer” is actually £20 not £40 .

Moisturizer isn’t what has any impact on anti aging .

Daily sunscreen - standalone not in makeup or spf and retinols . Once you have these basics you can start introducing other actives and serums etc .

Moisturizer isn’t the fix, it should be part of a wider skincare regime . It is about skin hydration nothing more . I’ve used expensive - La Mer etc and cheap and personally find Avene and La Roshe Posay great . Fragrance free products with nothing that will irritate .

How do you know that's true, though? You'd need to apply the ultra-expensive stuff to one half of your face and keep going with whatever you were doing before on the other half (and you'd have to have them in identical pots so you couldn't tell which was which) to be able to assess what difference there was.

Ok the reason I'm sure is two fold. Firstly I've seen a huge reduction in fine lines and a couple of deeper ones around my mouth. Retinol has made my skin even smoother and vitamin C brighter. I've gone from having really good skin to glowing,smooth almost line free skin.
The second reason and one I didn't like to say cause it sounds a little unkind is both my sister's have the same good skin as me but as we've all entered our 40s my skin looks much better. They still have fab skin and get comments but mine does have the edge.
A couple of times over the last five years I've got lazy and slacked a bit and used wipes instead of cleansing properly too often. After a few months my skin lost it's glow and the fine lines started creeping back.
It's taken a while and a lot of products but I have my routine nailed down. It doesn't cost loads and I keep my eye out for bargains. I like certain brands but I'm aware of the ingredients so often get products well reduced when there's a sale plus The Ordinary products and a biore spf from Japan ordered through Amazon costing about £7. Even when there's no Sun shine it's the uva rays from the sun that cause aging and damage beneath the skin and is unseen at the time.
As was previously advised moisturer on it's own even an anti-aging one won't do much more than moisturise, so of course if you've found a good one stick with it but if you're interested in keeping on top of aging then consider adding in other products. If not that's obviously your own choice but don't dismiss all the anti aging products there are out there as been the same as basic creams.

Also look at Hot and Flashy on YouTube she is awesome 😍😍😍

You're very persuasive Lonesurvivor! I do agree about the need for a good spf - I'll check out that Biore one. Would you put it on top of moisturiser?

It’s all about finding what works for you and deciding if the cost is worth it.

I spend £20+ on my Clinique moisturiser but I have very reactive acne prone skin so when I find something that doesn’t break me out I stick with it.

I’ve wasted far more money on trying other moisturisers for a few pounds a time then binning them after they make me a greasy spotty mess!

I took dd out for a walk and have some back to a lot of replies, thank you!

Was thinking on our walk, my mum in her early 60s has fantastic skin, she's never really used make up and for the past couple of years has been using the also cream I think.

I'm slightly intrigued though as to how a post on a moisturizer thread was deleted by MN? What offence could have been said?!

I'm lucky in that where I work has a training salon so if I ever want a facial etc it costs max £7. I seem to be lucky in the skin care department!

"couple of times over the last five years I've got lazy and slacked a bit and used wipes instead of cleansing properly too often. After a few months my skin lost it's glow and the fine lines started creeping back."

Wet wipes are horrendous as a replacement for proper cleansing, within three days I can see the damage it's doing to my skin. Am always agog at women who use them exclusively as their method of makeup removal!

Lol findo, I'm not trying to push people into using stuff if they're not bothered just saying anti aging products do work and not to dismiss them

Yes use spf over moisturiser, it's the Biore watery essence a blue bottle. I saw it recommended on here a lot because it goes on really well over skin care and doesn't "roll" like some and you can apply foundation straight after.

I wouldn't advise anyone to rush off to the nearest beauty counter and slash out loads on products. Take your time and do research, figure out your skin type and what areas you want to sort out. Introduce products slowly and see what works and keep an eye out for bargains. Qvc often do really good offers on skin care and have easy pay instalments but the best part is they've a no quibble 30 day money back guarantee so if the product doesn't suit your skin or doesn't work you can return it.
Also make sure to cleanse morning and night, even if you don't wear make-up. Your face picks up dirt and pollutants throughout the day and gets sweaty overnight so it needs cleansing.

I wouldn't spend on moisturiser - I like nip fab kale fix which is about £7 from TK Maxx
I would spend on serum, and a decent SPF

Appuskidu... I don’t have with me but is in navy tube and labelled as ‘ anti wrinkle cream’ with hyaluronic acid and ‘liftan’ whatever that is. Think is only £1.99 !!

The ordinary - cheap and excellent

If you fancy it and can afford it but it although I just use vit e cream on my face it is lovely currently using superdrug own.
I spent a small fortune on fancy pants shampoo today because my hair has gone to pot. Woman in the shop convinced me it was build up of sillicone blah de blah so i bought the fancy pants shampoos yes she said i needed 2 different ones

@MrsJayy I swear by the vit e facial oil Superdrug do 👍🏼