Expensive Skincare Products - are they worth the money?

[Gillian76]

I have been a Clarins girl for about 5 years and I love the products but lately am finding it a very expensive habit to fund!

Do you think the expensive ranges really are better than cheaper products? Anyone use a cheaper range they are happy with?

[expatinscotland]

I use Proactiv for my acne and it's fantastic.

Olay for moisturising (with built in sunscreen) and anti-ageing. So far, so good. I like the mix the Regenerist serum with the bog standard Olay fluid at night. Makes it last that much more. I get mine in Costco at 2 bottles for £27 and that lasts me nearly a year.

I have used Body Shop Cocoa Butter on the tum this time and last time and have nary a stretchmark, but I've also been doing Pilates for over 15 years and my stomach was very firm before becoming pregnant.

[Ameriscot2005]

DH is a skin care expert and he says that the key things are UVA protection, moisturisation (eg glycerine and oils, to keep your barrier function intact), and antioxidants (eg vitamin E, grape seed extract, green tea, carnosine). You can repair damage by using certain vitamins (esp. vitamin C, and vitamin A) and peptides.

Retinol (vitamin A derivative) is effective, but it is not a magic ingredient because it causes irritation to a large number of people. It's going to be banned in the EU in about a year for safety issues (except on prescription).

[charleepeters]

i brought some St Ives skin firming cream it cost 98p from Wilkinsons! its worked really well it had added Ginko and Rosemary, but wehn i spent £15 pound on a Roc one it was pants!

[teeavee]

Dermatologists say that the only real way to prevent wrinkles is to use sunscreen/avoid UV's.

[mogwai]

I asked a dermatologist friend about this. She said that the only active ingredient that has been properly proven to reduce or slow down the effects of ageing is retinol.

So now I mix and match beauty products but always use L'oreal active day cream with retinol. I must admit, Estee Lauder stuff feels nicer on my skin, but I'm happy with the L'Oreal cream as it's only about £7 a jar.

Clarins Huile tonique has kept me free of stretch marks for the last 39 weeks! And I know I'm prone to them as I used to be very overweight and have them in other places. Their Beauty Flash Balm is gorgeous.

Has anyone tried Origins products? Their Body souflee and salt scrubs are out of this world - even my dh comments on how silky my skin feels when I've used them, and the smell lingers for ages. Expensive but worth it. They do an exfoliator tcalled "never a dull moment" that's grea

[Fran1]

No matter how hard i try, cheap skincare is just crap.

I have super sensitive skin and it really is clinique or clarins that work for me.

Anything else and i come out in dry patches, spotty patches you name it.

The expensive stuff isn't worth the money but has to be paid for decent skin. Does that make sense??

[jampots]

I use Clinique for skincare and find it great.

[Gillian76]

Lucky you Twiglett

I was reading on another thread about the Body Shop products - seemed to be positive comments. I wonder if swapping my Clarins cleanser/toner for something cheaper but keeping the Clarins moisturiser would work? Then again, it's the moisturiser that's the killer!

[Twiglett]

just bog standard Olay stuff

tbh I'm very fortunate in my genetic make-up and have quite young-looking skin despite taking no great care of it

it would not be unusual for me to wash my face with whatever soap is lying around the bath rather than cleanse and tone and moisturise

in fact, I more frequently don't do anything at night than do

[Miranda5]

I think Clarins hydra zen is worth every penny - expensive but I use it sparingly ...sorry girls nothing else matches up for me!

[teeavee]

I have a Clarins facial wash that really stings my eyes

Not convinced about expensive products at all - a friend of mine used her clinique toner to remove a nail varnish stain from her bathroom wall - that stuff is like paint stripper! I stopped using it after that, although I had just bought a big bottle....

I am currently getting more and more attracted by totally natural/organic beauty products with no chemicals in them - not necessarily more expensive, but at least you know what you're slapping on your face.
My fave moisturiser at the moment is Weleda Calendula cream - smells gorgeous, really rich, use it on ds' bottom sometimes too! He loves playing with the tube, I thinks it's the smell that attracts him.

[Gillian76]

See what you mean Twiglett. It does sound shocking! What do you use then?

[mancmum]

I think it is worth paying out more for moisturiser than any other skin care cheap ones never seem to do the trick for me but have found that some of the cleansers can be Ok... my fave bargain skin care at the moment is the loreal dermabrasion fabulous and only about a tenner... hate their mosturisers though!!

[Ameriscot2005]

You are being fleeced at £30.

Think of how much must go into the packaging, freebies, consultants, merchandising, expensive lunches with magazine editors, 5th Avenue office space...

[Twiglett]

I nearly bought Olay Regenerist in Sainsbury's today .. but really couldn't justify the £18 on top of the weekly shopping bill

but I was momentarily tempted

[Gillian76]

I once had a reaction to an Olay moisturiser too. Can't remember which one, but they gave me my money back, nice people

[snafu]

I'm a Clarins addict as well and I do think some of their products are fab (Beauty Flash, anyone?) but tbh I also do think you're paying over the odds for packaging, advertising, marketing etc. One of the best moisturisers I ever used was by No 7 - until I got seduced by the thought of all those lovely red-and-white bottles instead!

There is shedloads of Clarins on eBay though - I got a bottle of HydraSerum for a fiver a few weeks ago. I also try to wait for the 'free gift' offers and smile nicely at the cosmetic counter girls and plead for some samples!

[Gillian76]

Cheaper than £30 for a moisturiser

[Ameriscot2005]

What do you mean by cheap?

I wouldn't use anything other than Olay .

[anchovies]

I am not convinced that the cheaper brands work out that much cheaper in the long run. I buy loads of them as I never like them and then just slap them on. My estee lauder moisturiser however I use quite sparingly as I know it's gonna be a long time before I can jusify buying more!

Hope somebody does suggest a cheaper brand though that I haven't tried yet.