Getting older is getting very expensive!

[JMAngel1]

Anyone else feel like this?
I’ve always been high maintenance since my teens but in the last year or so, the list of what I need to keep me looking well presented and feeling “normal” seems to be getting longer.

This morning I’ve just placed orders for what I now consider essentials - plumping serum, vaginal moisturiser, hair dye, neck and chest cream, hair styling cream, 4 different supplements and progesterone cream. I’m 48 and my budget seems to be going more and more on these types of products and there is less and less for clothes and pretty things like make up.

At this age I thought I would be shopping at Jaegar and John Lewis and buying Bobbi Brown or Charlotte Tilbury. Instead I have to buy from eBay and Primark and most of my makeup is MUA or NYX.
Anyone else feel like this?

No but I'm thinking maybe I should now I am older. Any creams or potions you'd particularly recommend OP?

Oh god, I wouldn't know where to start!!!

I'll just give you a list of what I've bought on line this morning?
Volufiline serum
Vagisil prohydrate gel
Wella Koleston 8/89 hair dye
Prai Neck and throat cream
Trepadora Papaya slip cream
Panax gingeng - for energy
Magnesium citrate - for sleep
Ashwagandha - calming
DIM supplement - hot flushes
Smoky Mountain Progesterone cream.

I really can't add it all up!

Vitamins are definitely expensive and seem more important as I get older. My multivits are nearly £20 per month and that's before I add in the magnesium.
I don't buy expensive face creams though - I like the Aldi ones and although they aren't as luxurious as the Lancome ones I used to have, my skin can't really tell the difference.

No I'm low maintenance. Though I do use RetinA and SPF every day. Vitamins I use a vitamin D/K combined spray, vitamin B12 spray and vegan omega capsules.

That’s some list. I’m 45 and don’t buy most of that stuff. Do you really think throat cream makes any difference?

I think if you were always that way, you will continue to be. Personally I think ageing is more to do with genes and lifestyle than what you put on your face. I don't have a facial routine, just wash in the shower and slap some standard face cream on. No make-up. My hair is now white, although I was always white blonde naturally, so not so much difference. I do get blonde highlights occasionally to give it some depth. No supplements. I try to eat healthily and keep fit, but moderately, walking rather than running! I am 55 but not menopausal yet which probably helps a lot.

i'm 47 but don't buy half that stuff.
It sounds expensive!

I was spending lots on Estee Lauder but after some advice on here, bought CeraVe. Worth looking at alternatives and cutting down your list of 'essentials'.

I use a daily moisturiser and eye cream with vitamin E and I dye my hair. That’s it.

Regular exercise and a healthy diet keep me fit and looking well. I’m 45 and look it but no amount of throat cream will change that.

i just use moisturiser and dont smoke. Sometimes a bit of make-up for a special occasion. Most people think i'm younger than i am. Does all that stuff really make much difference?

I buy skincare stuff from The Ordinary and haircare from Superdrug own brand, all vegan. I think eating a healthy diet, exercising and being well rested makes me look and feel a lot better than a bunch of expensive chemicals would. I'm 48.

I view all that youth serum and creams as doing next to nothing and sold by making women feel insecure in their skin.
I’m very low maintenance. Spend less than €50 per year on such products.
If I were you, I’d try cutting out one thing and seeing if it makes a difference. Or try using one cream for face and neck. Or use tinted moisturiser instead of moisturiser plus foundation. Etc.

Snake oil isn’t it? For the most part.

I am 39 and I do feel I have to use more products and take more time to get ready now. But I don't spend anything like you op! I had the m&s Advent calendar in 2018 and just put the face creams to one side. But found them in a drawer earlier this year and started using some and my face definitely looked better, smoother I think. I've used them all up now, and can't afford to buy the full versions, but I will have to look at a cheap alternative.

I exercise daily (mixed pilates/yoga/weights) and eat relatively well ( odd slip up here and there).
The skincare I buy is cheap (apart from the Prai) as I mainly use TO or superdrug or order directly from South Korea.
The Prai is amazing stuff and really does smooth out my chest - I ran out and haven't used for around a month and my neck/chest look collapsed today.
The supplements and vaginal/progesterone cream are me trying to stave off going onto HRT.

The trepadora is expensive - I could look to find a cheaper alternative but often with my hair, I will end up buying cheaper stuff which turns out to be a false economy as it won't be as good as the original item iyswim and it ends up sitting on a shelf.

Dear me...

I am older than you are and all I do is take vitamins, put a single, standard cream on my face, which contains sunscreeen, and colour my hair at home.

Frankly it is more important to eat well, sleep enough and be physically active than to spend a fortune on product and obsess about your appearance.

I would much rather enjoy what life I have left and do things than spend my time and money on beauty treatment and products.

Going vegetarian and regular exercise helped me nip any hot flushes or menauposal signs in the bud.

Most of the 'beauty' industry is about making women fell bad about themselves to get them buying products they don't need.

Wow - I'm 61 and all I use is moisturiser!! All my life people have thought I am 10 years younger than my actual age. Do you really need all that stuff OP?

I use nice elemis face creams now that I'm in my early 40's, i stopped smoking about 15 years ago. But I mean there's an element of my face is my face - you can't stop time. I look about my age and i don't think any amount of lotions and potions will change that unfortunately!

I've always been very low maintenance though.

Liking the advice here...
Vegetarian, exercising and getting out walking in the fresh air..

I use Olay products.
Plain soap in the shower, although nice ones..
Dont dye my hair yet, not very grey.
But have started on Menopace vits.

I'm 46 and feel the changes... best thing is, compound exercises vids on pinterest. Great little moves to do at home for half an hour with loud music on.

I'm not going down easy! Im gonna age well and keep my best, but wisely. Well I hope so anyway!

I’m in my 60s and use a moderately expensive moisturiser (Avene) and a couple of other products from them that I bought when on special offer, No 7 tinted moisturiser for work and either a tinted lip balm or a sheer glossy lip colour in crayon form (also no 7). I stopped colouring my hair years ago and the grey suits me. I use whatever nice smelling shampoo is on offer when I buy. I have a hair cut very 5-6 weeks, about £30 each time. I have HRT (oestrogen gel) on prescription. I visit the gym twice a week and walk a lot so I’m in good shape. I buy clothes I like and that suit me from a range of outlets, some cheap, some expensive. I‘m told (frequently) that I look good, and it doesn’t cost a lot. Maybe start by visiting your GP and sorting some HRT, then work on your fitness and reduce the number of products you buy.

Far from using more products, I've cut down to just moisturiser and sunscreen as my skin turned sensitive post menopause -possibly as a result of using too much random stuff on it, although I can never prove it.

But I do exercise and eat more carefully.

I’m your age and don’t use any of that stuff. I do have HRT though which helps with dryness, flushes, bad sleep, irritability and more. It sounds to me like you could swap 10 products for HRT.

Great discussion! Bookmarking

I'm 60 and use baby wash in the shower, Aussie miracle shampoo, and E45 as moisturiser. That's it. Oh spf cream in the summer. I am far lower maintenance than I was at 30, and believed snake oil claims. Try to eat well, exercise, relax, read a good book, have a laugh, embrace your age. I love being older, less pressure.

ps never used HRT, the menopause was awful, but am out the other side.

You could save yourself an absolute bomb OP if you went onto HRT and given that you're using progesterone cream you're BUYING a form of HRT when you could get it free on the NHS. I use an oestrogen gel and have a Mirena coil (progesterone). Cost to me? The cost of a prescription, which is about £9 every 3-6 months and the coil is replaced once every five years. The difference to my skin is noticeable. When I went to see my dermatologist after being on the oeotrogen gel for