The amount of cash and energy I have wasted on shit products!

[PharrellsEagleTattoo]

Anyone want to commiserate with me? I’ve been thinking about how many products really did end up being worth the money and/or hype, and the percentage is maybe 2%.

I’ve spent so much money on stuff that has been recommended by people who are supposedly in the know (cough Caroline Hirons cough) and skincare websites and have ended up binning most of it. Stuff from the Ordinary, stuff from Space NK, expensive makeup, argh!

I tried the OCM and ended up with giant horn like zits on my head. Other products have given me clogged pores. Some products have irritated my skin. Others have done zilch.

I now stick to the bare minimum products that I know don’t irritate or make things worse/ may make things slightly better.

But I’m so sick of being suckered in by latest crazes or the latest skincare or whatever and it ends up being a load of crap.

It depends - I’m not sure how much an initial consultation is now as I had mine two years ago and now my visits to her include treatments . I imagine in the realm of £250 for consultation now .

Many of the top clinics are around this similar price .

I do know this is totally out of the affordablity of many people before someone calls me out of touch

Catsandkids78 I see her too! Though lately I see her colleague Dr Emma Wedgeworth more. She is slightly cheaper and easier to get an appointment with! :)

I think Dr Sam's initial consultation is £300-£350 now. I've been going for over 3 years and it has definitely gone up since then.

For my neck I have found the 60 second face lift by rio to be great. I haven't really used it on my face but I bought it primarily for my neck. My chin definitely looks better as does my neck but you kind of have to use it every day to begin with and I have been a bit lazy about it recently. That and the ordinary retinol [not retinoid] used every now and again and I have tried retinol reface and quite liked it. Not expensive too on amazon compared to other products. I do think that it didn't give the wow that Id hoped for but then do think things are overhyped. I think retinol is the best for all anti-ageing and has proven results. Don't waste your money on expensive stuff either. The thing to check on products is how much retinol. I will use the ordinary and also buy some retinol from amazon.

I keep it simple - wash face with Clearasil[ I do get spots even at my age] and then apply loreal revitalift. After that a facial sunscreen then that's me good to go. In the evening I wash my face with Clearasil and then apply some retinol and that's it. I am 50. I have good genes. Many are shocked at my age.

Also the thing with us all using retinol - you ain't going to see overnight results it's a marathon not a sprint

Can you pm me Emmas rates please, might tell my friend about her as she can't afford Sam.

I now source my own tret not on face atm on scarring and skinoren but like to see them for my treatments as I haven't found anyone better and I've seen a fair few doctors

I’d be interested to hear what everyone on this thread does use as the above poster has stated.

Me: cetaphil, avene tolerance moisturiser, healthy mix, bourgouis blush, duac at night. Eucerin urea shampoo. Johnson’s baby top to toe wash in the shower. Aveeno body lotion.

Multivitamin, vitamin d supplement (which makes a big difference by the way, try it!!!!) lots of water.

AM: Evolue Gentle Cream Cleanser, Hydrating mist of some kind haven’t found a favourite since old fav got bought over, Evolue Eye Cream
If I’m going outside then: Green Energy Organics Le Fluide Ecologique Moisturising SPF30 with Soleil Toujours Set and Protect Micro Mist SPF 30 as an SPF top up during the day. Alba Botnica SPf25 Lipbalm. If I’m staying inside then Evolue Gentle Hydrating Serum, a mist and Oskia Restoration Oil

I use Mother Dirt AO Probiotic Mist as final step sometimes.

PM: Same cleanser as AM, Mad Hippie Vitamin A serum, a mist of some sort, Dr Alkaitis Nourishing Elixir, Epic Blend Lip balm, Evolue Eye Cream. Occasionally I skip the serum and elixir and just use Alpha-H Liquid Gold after cleansing.

Treatments (all once a week) : Salicylic Acid plus whatever clay mask, Oskia City Life Detox Mask, Earth Kiss Million Year Clay Facial Revitalise Sheet Mask, Hydrating Mask made by soaking muji sheer mask in PHB Aloe and Rose Gel, hydrocolloid plasters/spot patches for spot emergencies

Hair: Faith in Nature Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, Faith in Nature Fragrance Free Conditioner. Korres Red Vine UV protector spray. Once a month Olaplex or oil soak. Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner if I’m going somewhere special. Looking for a nice dry shampoo just now.

Body: Rahua Body Lotion, Fresh Therapies Nail and Cuticle Oil, Bionsen Mineral deodorant spray. A basics organic SPF 30 I bought in Spain.

Perfume: Penhaligon’s Halfeti or The Library of Fragrance in Kitten Fur

Make-up: Don’t wear make up day to day but if going out Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara and Liquid Lumiere Illuminator in Brilliance, Ere Perez Lip and Cheek tint in Joy or Fun or 109% Pure Lip Tint in Cherry, Ere Perez Jojoba Eye Pencil in stone. I have a Pacifica concealer and Barry M setting powder in case of any breakouts.

Nivea blue pot.

John Frieda Frizz Ease
Useless for me.
Some items India Knight recommended in the Sunday Times. Very expensive and meh. She gets them free to try probably

What I wish journalists etc would do is talk about ingredients and why something 'works'. Obviously nothing is going to work for everyone, but some ingredients are a no-no for me and I've discovered this through trial and error mostly. I do think less is more on the whole, though - my skin is pretty sensitive.

One thing India Knight recommended that I love is the Micropedi. I love that thing!

I tend to check out Dr Dray on YouTube, a dermatologist, note than Caroline Hirons now. Dr Dray’s approach is that you don’t need all the layers, acids etc. I like her and she is not sponsored:-)

Thanks trigger2 I’ll check that out

Don’t get me wrong I still visit miss Hirons website, but for non nonsense basic routine advice I’m more of dr Dray’s mindset now.
Cleanse, moisturise, spf and I’ve just got myself some tretinoin. I’ve tried various acids etc and my skin is more settled with less

The Ordinary isn't bad as such but you only have to flick through Mrs Gloss & the goss to see women buying every single product and then asking for help as to how to use them, I have also often seen some really nasty burns on skin from using too many acids.

There seem to be a lot of people here suddenly sticking up for The Ordinary ?!
The skin is an organ designed to keep our insides free from external crap and that includes a lot of the skincare products we use on it!
I'm a fan of Dermalogica - but the basic range that I've been using for 20 plus years - a cream cleanser, spray toner and moisturiser. That or Ren. I tried Dermalogica's retinol whatsit and it made no difference. Because I've looked after my skin since my teens (skincare regime but have exercised and eaten properly and not smoked or gone overboard on suntanning) I know the lines I have on my face are there because that is what the ageing process is.

Someone on Mumsnet recommended Bondi Sands mousse tan. Said it was the dog's ........
It's more expensive than the Rimmel mousse and not as good.
Plus it has put a pink tinge on my white bed sheets

I also believe that less is more. At night I always double cleanse using the REN Hot Cloth Cleanser + No 7 Protect & Perfect Serum + Olay Pro Retinol Eye cream + EA Visible Difference moisturiser. A mixed bag of products, but one that really works for me.

Mornings I just quickly cleanse again + No 7 serum + Biore SPF 50 Watery Essence.

Having spent a small fortune over the years i now use
Elemis cleansing balm at night and m&s sleep cream. Mornings i use a facial wash in the shower, origins ginzing atm but i change them when they run out. Nip and fab pad, pro collagen marine cream and nuxe SPF 50 in summer and 30 in winter.
I use soap in the shower and any old body butter/lotion, usually spend all year using up the Christmas smellies.
Changing to bar soap in the shower and stick anti perspirant has probably been the most life changing for me. I was always worrying about being smelly as i sweat heavily but those two things have made a huge difference.

I completely stopped all these products a couple of years ago. They invariably make my skin sore, sensitive, thin or dull. Or they do nothing at all at very best.

I was always changing products, always looking for something new because my skin never felt great.

Now I use bar soap on my face in the evening and a moisturiser afterwards. A Korean one in the Winter and cheap as chips but really very good Garnier Moisture Bomb Night one for Summer.

If I have been wearing eye makeup then I remove that with a cleanser first - I am using the Clarins sensitive eye one at the moment. But always soap and water afterwards.

In the morning I will use just water. Nothing else needed except in the Winter perhaps some more moisturiser.

That is it. My skin has never been better.

I watched a blog from Hirons a while back where she went through all the products she uses. There was a whole cupboard full. There is no way you can use that many products so presumably she is using them intermittently. It all seems unbelievable, pointless and unworkable. Does she have a spreadsheet where she rotated things? And, I see a woman with normal skin when I look at her. It is not bad skin but not the skin of a skincare goddess. That sounds bitchy, but I mean her skin doesn’t look any better than Mrs Ordinary Woman in the Street.

I have become totally disillusioned with CH and have unfollowed. Too many products, mostly extremely expensive and not particularly effective. She one long advertorial.
I have switched to mainly Superdrug too and their own range is really good. I also like some of the French pharmacy brands that always seem to work and are not irritating.

I like the Ordinary reasonably priced and work though I only use two things at a time.

At 53, I’ve narrowed my skin care down to oil cleansing method, Clinique supercharged moisteriser, and Some kind of bb creme with spf. I also take hylauranic acid tablets and biotin.
I do wish I had stayed out of the sun in the 80’s and have hammered sun skin protection into my daughters.