Expensive products that aren't worth it and alternatives

[susiefen]

Inspired by the previous "beauty products you hate" thread, I thought it might be starting one for products that you've spent a lot on but been disappointed. I'll start with the Estee Lauder serum everyone raves about but I don't find it's done anything for me and also Creme de la Mer - absolutely lovely and smells utterly divine, but I'm not sure it's done more for my skin over the last 6 months than Olay ever did...

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Hello, this thread is a little old and the links are out of date. Take a look at this handy page for a round-up of Mumsnetters' favourite beauty dupes.

Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream. Crap for the price. Alternative Lansinoh lanolin nipple cream. Truly. Don't laugh.

Agree with loads here.

Almost all high end foundations I have ever bought (too many to mention, but including Laura Mercier, Chanel, YSL, Estee Lauder) were highly disappointing. I use Revlon Colour Stay for full coverage/nights out and Bourjois CC cream for day to day. Cheaper, better.

Eve Lom hot cloth cleanser was nice. But then I discovered that any old hot cloth cleanser was pretty much fine. It was the method of double cleansing with a creamy cleanser and cloth that my skin liked, not the 60 quid stuff in the pot. Superdrug Vit E cleanser all the way now.

Posh nail polish. Its all branding and packaging. Revlon is the best, longest lasting stuff I've found.

Expensive moisturisers. Bollocks to them. Have tried dozens of them. Nivea light day cream is fine. Ditto to relying on expensive SPF moisturisers. You cant possibly be protecting your skin if you are only putting a few small blobs of a factor 15, fifty quid cream on. You need to slather on the sunscreen instead of or after moisturising. Sun Sense off Amazon - SPF 50 facial sunscreen for under a tenner.

What a great thread!

My contribution is the Boots mascara I now use instead of more expensive ones. It is £1.99 and I tried it on another S&B poster recommendation and it's great!

Has anyone got an alternative to EL Daywear? I do like it and it does make my skin nice but the price of it keeps going up and up. I fancy one of the French pharma brands but no idea what to look for

Any cream cleansers for taking your make up off and washing the face at night - ok they smell lovely and come in nice packaging etc, but since I've tried mixing my own oils for cleansing the oil cleansing method way, never looking back - so much cheaper and just as effective!

Bioré blackhead strips? Use duct-tape.

I really didn't like Caudalie Eau de Beauté (the spray that everyone raves on about online) - it actually irritated my skin and gave me blotchy, red patches. Likewise, pretty much all (non-exfoliating) toners and spritzes/water sprays inc. Avene Thermal water, Caudalie Grape Water, La Roche Posay water spray, La Roche-Posay Serozinc, Mario Badescu Rose Aloe Water... They're all basically redundant! Save your money as some of these can be £20 upwards, and genuinely do nothing... And as for an 'alternative' I guess the only alternative really is just to say don't try and hydrate/refresh using a toner but instead invest in a good moisturiser...

Other high-end expensive products that I didn't rate: Guerlain mascara (double ended one), Clarins beauty flash balm, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream, pretty much all Clinique skin care but esp. their three step system (face wash, toner, moisturiser) as well as their moisture surge, their eye cream etc. etc. I think they're really overrated, esp. if you have spot-prone skin.

I'm sure I'll think of more!

Oh yeah - expensive lip glosses... Why bother when there are plenty of decent lip gloss/shines from cheaper brands? I bought a Dior one that cost c. £20 and it was full of tacky looking glitter, didn't smell very good and tasted rank if you got it in your mouth. Will stick to cheaper alternatives in future!

Great thread! Can anyone please, please recommend an alternative to Ma Petit Cherie by Annik Goutal (any loitering perfumistas?)

Contrary to most people on here I absolutely love my Touché Éclat and wouldn't be without it! It is the only expensive make up I have. Mind you I don't wear make up at all on a daily basis so maybe anything I try is an improvement.....

Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Primer for ~£11 is a dead ringer for Dior Dream Skin ~£70

Tizwailor I use half castor oil and half jojoba oil, rub them into your face, over mascara and all, then wipe off with a hot flannel. If you have dry skin, increase the ratio of jojoba over castor, and if your skin is oily, do the opposite and have more castor oil than jojoba. Castor oil is always the base, I have also tried olive, sweet almond, grapeseed oils instead of jojoba. It really depends on everyone's skin! But to keep it simple just start with castor and jojoba 50/50. Oh and you can also add your favourite essential oils like lavender, geranium etc

Tizwailor I also use oils instead of a night time moisturizer hehe! If you're up for it I'd recommend to give camellia or moringa oils a try, they are beautiful :)

Any vegetable oil is as good, if not better to hot cloth cleanse than any high end stuff I have tried. I use grape seed oil for cleansing and moisturise with it at night.
Agree with bourjois chocolate bronzer too.
Make up revolution iconic palettes are v similar urban decay makers and last too. 4 quid from super drug.
I read the ingredients list and now have an idea if am being ripped off. Filler ingredients such as parafinim liquidium mineral oil are cheap and block pores so I avoid.
ReVlon concealer are as good as any high end products.
In the end many formulations are very similar. Things like pigments cost more, likewise certain ingredients like natural oils don't last as long so are more expensive.
The gold no 7 mascara is exactly the same as the Estée Lauder tubing mascara.
Have saved myself a fortune!

I bought a tub of plain Shea nut butter from the people:

www.amphora-retail.com/product_info.php/shea-nut-body-butter-200g-p-320

And add lavender oil. It is brilliant as lip salve, and for hard skin on feet, and lasts absolutely ages.

And I too cleanse off makeup with almond oil from boots with a few drops of essential oil in, and a hot flannel. A bottle that lasts 2 months is £1.59 from the pharmacy. I treated myself to a pump bottle to make it easier to use.

And for moisturiser I use Dermol 500 lotion, again from pharmacies, with oils added. It is a bit thin but rubs in nicely. I was originally prescribed it as a cleanser for sensitive skin by a dermatologist but was was developed as a moisturiser too. A pump action bottle that lasts me 2 years costs about £12.

Eye cream. All kinds. I use my regular moisturiser, on wet skin. Does the job very nicely & doesn't drag or feel heavy at all.

I've used Body Shop All-In-One Face Base for years. It's so quick to apply & covers pretty well. It doesn't go far though for the price so I save it for the days when I need makeup & don't really have time...

I use olive oil to remove makeup and to hot cloth cleanse. It works brilliantly.

I also use Lanacane as a primer - much better than any proper primer I've tried.

No one has mentioned this so far, but Mavala nail varnish is the absolute best.

I'll never buy nail varnish from anyone else again. Others never last and are always too thin.

I've also got to sing Revlon's praises. Their eyeshadow and blusher in particular. I would love to try their foundation, but I am too pale.

This is more of a money saving tip but spritzing a little of your perfume in unscented body lotion is a million times cheaper than getting proper perfumed lotion. I put mine in Aveeno body lotion because it smells of nothing.

Remus palmers do a fragrance free version of their lotion I think

stevie77 Is the Boots mascara the Natural Collection one?

Mascara is just about the only thing I've not managed to get a budget version of- still use L'Oreal.

Most have been said but here's mine anyway-
Mua eye shadow, pencils and lip gloss,
love the So range of perfumes (bought from B&M, much cheaper than Boots)
Argan oil and suncream are the only things I use for face skincare and my skin is better than ever.
Homemade face scrubs-honey, sugar, oil.
Olive oil hair mask.