Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise - do you?

[Rhiannon]

and if you do what do you use.

I just use soap and water with a slap of Vaseline moisturiser and my skin seems quite happy with that but am I going to regret it?

I am the same as Bells1, have been doing the lot since I was 16, used to be pocket-money products but since my friend introduced me to the Clinique 3-step when I was 20 I have not looked back. I think they last very well for the money you pay and besides, as I'm on a budget, I request what I'm running out of for birthday's and Christmas. Everytime I've been tempted to buy a cheaper product I've regretted it because they make my skin feel dry and flaky.However, I admit that I'm a total product addict and if you removed my bathroom cabinet I would cry for weeks. My Mum is aghast as she's never used more than a tiny squirt of Oil of Ulay (Olay - whatever they're calling it now) and never wears make-up. I think I developed my addiction (that sounds a bit too serious!) from going to my Nana's house as a child and seeing her dressing table lined with jars of Helena Rubenstein and Lancome, with rows of lipsticks and pots of eyecolour - magic!

Clinique is clearly a brand you either get on with well or don't. I found Turnaround Cream took the entire top layer off my skin overnight, and I would not say it was unduly sensitive. Anything with retinol or salyclic acid (? sp) in it disagrees with me.
I shudder when I think of some of the teen brands I subjected my poor skin to. Anyone else remember 10-0-6? Industrial waste from the USA, glowed in the dark. Anne French? Clearasil tinted foundation? I looked like a badly plastered wall.
Croppy, my hairdresser raves about Aveda products, he has known the guy who started up the company since he was a little YTS trainee in Beckenham. But he won't stock them because unless you are an exclusive outlet the wholesaler discount is shocking. Any ideas where I can get hold of them in London?

Tigermoth
Glad someone else is the same age as me here. Like you, I have kept up a good scincare routine for some years now and it definitely makes a big difference the older you get.I prefer the premium brands when I can afford them as they do seem to be better.

Argh, Batters, I think there is a door policy against scruffs like me entering "lifestyle shops" (Space NK is another that makes me wobble at the knees). I was hoping for some anonymous and egalitarian space such as John Lewis or even Selfridges! Thanks for the tip though. Will wait until having a good hair and skin day then run in very quickly.

Marina - GAAAH! Have spent years of therapy trying to block out Clearasil tinted foundation from my memories - it was in a tube and came in one colour for all skins - the delightful shade of American tan tights - oh, and the slimy texture...and the way it used to dry in a large clump on top of the already huge spot underneath... help, someone call my psychiatrist!!!!

Marina, I have drawfuls of disgusting products like 10-0-6 that I tried in the vain hope of getting rid of the red eruptions! I now know NEVER to buy anything alcohol-based, it is like using paintstripper on your face and makes your skin produce even more oil! But yes, on the upside, my gran is 97 and looks 20 years younger, and I was out shopping with my Mum today and she was mistaken for my sister! So I may be saddled with spots for life but my face will be a wrinklefree zone!
LOL re your B.O. express - don't you just hate sniffing armpits on a sardine special in 100 degree heat?

Marina, I'm pretty sure I've seen an Aveda counter in House of Fraser (but please check B4 making a special journey) and it's also on QVC quite a lot!

Rhiannon, I too heard the rumour about the M&S stuff being made by Clarins, (the blue and white coloured range). Since baby 2 I have been using clinique eye cream which seems good for those puffy days. I did use the Clinique toner (big pink bottle) for ages like you Lizzer, but since 30s, my skin has been alot drier. I had a facial as a treat about 6 months ago, and the lady there said the Clinique stuff is great for younger skin, but as you get older it does tend to be more drying and it is alcohol based.

I've found a great new cleansing milk by Elemis that is fantastic and their moisturiser is the first one in all these years that doesnt give me spots!!

Tigermoth and Cam Im like you just about to enter my forties and I can definatly say that the wrinkles started maybe two years ago. It is noticable with friends who are just 2 or 3 years younger that they have less wrinkles.
Although creams etc probably help to some extent Im sure its all down to genetics and diet.

Marina - just saw your message on Aveda. I actually get my Aveda shampoo and conditioner over the phone from Dickens & Jones. I can't be bothered to trek to the west end and like you, have a horror of any sort of beauty consultants not to mention places like Space NK. Aveda stuff is really really expensive but I have to say, it is absolutely amazing. After I started using it around 6 months ago, I haven't touched any of the frizz control/ intensive conditioning / serums blah blah blah that I used to resort to in desperation. It is worth going along to the Aveda shop in Marylebone and having a look at the full range though (perhaps tie it in with a trip to Regents Park???). Just bring your child along - if he's anything like mine, the incredibly thin 22 year old assistants will be too horrified by his presence to worry about any potential shortcomings in your own trendiness!!.

Bells and everyone else who has mentioned Aveda. I have already heard of this range, but now feel very tempted to brave the shop - and the 22 year old sales assistants.

If Aveda can do something with frizzy hair, the chances are they can do something with the fine, lank hair I have been blessed with.

I have to say I love Space NK - even though I'm sure they think I look very scruffy - it makes me want to be wreckless and splash out on costly shampoo (Kiehls camomile) and other fancies - I also like to spray on all the delicious scents and try nail varnishes ! The girls in there have always been very civil and it smells so cool and lovely. It must be this heat,but last year when it was very hot I went into Jo Malone on Sloane St and spent ages sniffing her gorgeous colognes -it was heaven.I recommend a bottle to keep you cheered and fresh ! Also -Clarins L'Eau Dynamisante is a great favourite of mine and stuff from L'Occitane - you'll gather that I'm very fond of nice smells...I think my little boy has inherited this because he's always sniffing things and telling me what they remind him of !

Tusky, I LOVE L'Occitane. The best thing about the dreaded Bluewater is the close proximity of John Lewis and their lovely shop. Mmm, verbena linen spray...
And I find their "rustique" decor less intimidating than the wide open shiny spaces of the NK shop down there, whose assistants are the rudest I've ever seen. Now come on ladies, I bet at least some of the contributors on this thread have heard of Annick Goutal's Eau d'Hadrien. I KNOW the NK in town sells it, they were one of the first places to bring it to the UK. The little madams in the Bluewater branch looked at me as though I had asked for Jeyes fluid when I tried to buy it there.
Bells, thanks. I have to do a West End raid next week and I like dear old Dickens and Jones.

To go downmarket a little, but still on the smell theme, has anyone tried Cosmetics-to-Go products? Mial order,animal-friendly cosmetics, hair, skin and bath products. A cross betwen the body shop and Lush. The latter is an offshoot of CTG. CTG may have ceased trading. Such a pity, their brochures were a treat to read. The number of ways they could describe a bubble bath - I take my copywriting hat off to them. Anyway, they had this amazingly pungent green bubble bath called Smagradine (??spelling). Can it still be got?

Marina, Selfridges have Aveda. I had a flatmate who was adicted to them. They smell gorgeous, but I noticed no difference between it and cheapo Loreal (Because I'm worth it apparantly). I'm a water and cheap morning moisturiser girl myself. On the rare occasions I wear makeup, I take it all off with Simple eyemakeup remover. I used to use the Tesco's own brand until they changed it to a cream.
I grew up fair skinned in a hot country, so the thought of sun on my face fills me with horror. I can't go outside without a hat and SPF15 in the summer, and have been known to tell off people who sunbathe for too long. Ingrained habit. I'm frequently mistaken for being 10 years younger than I am, which I attribute to being a non-smoking suncream wearer with good genes.

Slug you suddenly made me feel v guilty about being out in the garden all day without any suncream on...I am 26 next week and hoping no-one thinks I look 36, boo-hoo - must try harder though. As you say it's a combination thing and my Mum often gets mistaken for being younger than her years - however I wonder how I'll fair in a few years as I'm a now ex-smoker who loves the sun a bit too much.....

Tigermoth, try this link. You and Batters reminded me how much I used to love Happy Hippy too...
Cosmetics to Go

Looks like they're still around!

Marina, I was a sucker for every lotion and potion too as an averagely spotty teenager. I remember Anne French cleansing milk was the height of sophistication and that I used to dab TCP solution on to particularly troublesome spots (as recommended by a teenage magazine). The sting and the stench made you feel that you must be achieving something - burning your skin I expect! I remember when Clearasil first hit the shelves thinking that I would never be spotty again - and 15 years later????

Marina, Just taken a furtive peep at the CTG website. They have Smagradine in stock. Yes! Thanks so much.

Marina & Tigermoth, I can't believe this still exists I used to use Cosmetics to go products when I first had a Holiday job (in a plant nursery...no relevance but its made me all nostalgic and reminds me of the endless summer days of 'Our Tune' and Radio One Roadshows!!! Mmmm?) Bath bombs... now they were great!

Did you ever try the Samgradine bubble bath, Winnie? The fragrance (musky/citrussy/patchouli/ but not too heavy) really stays on your skin for a whole day. Nothing else I have tried is as long lasting.

Bugsy, what you could have done is tip half a bottle of Charlie over your neck to neutralise the odour of the TCP. Gosh that stuff was potent. And I think there was another pocket money special called Cachet? By "Prince (oh please!) Mazzuchelli" or something?
I do think "the young folk" these days have a much better range of good quality, affordable and NON-CORROSIVE skincare. Nivea, Simple, Garnier and L'Oreal - some of their products are really good.
Winnie, my Happy Hippy memories are to do with buying our first flat. I initially chose it because it matched the bathroom decor (people who have seen CTG packaging, it was that colour when we moved in, OK?) and after that, I was hooked. I'm going to be placing an order too. I think CTG should consider offering mumsnetters a 10% discount. There is room in every woman's bathroom for Aveda and CTG, don't you think?