Affordable anti ageing skincare?

[Ariannah]

I saw Paula’s Choice recommended on another thread and thought it sounded great. It’s £34... ok but I guess it’s a decent size tube? Nope. It’s arrived and it’s TINY. So I’ll be sending it back.

With that in mind, does anyone have any recommendations for affordable anti ageing skincare with spf that’s cruelty free? I’m looking more at the £15-20 range for 50ml.

What do you mean by anti-ageing? It’s a very broad term into which a whole multitude of skincare falls into. If you are after SPF I assume it’s a moisturiser you’re after? What is your skin type? That’ll determine what products will work best for you.

If you want something anti ageing I would look for a retinol serum at night and spf in the day time. Medik8 is an excellent brand but otherwise inkey list and the ordinary have more budget options too. Think they’re all cruelty free.

Truthfully I have no idea. I’ve always just washed with shower gel and whacked on some plain cold cream. But I’m in my 40s and starting to get under eye wrinkles and 11 lines which look hideous, so I think I need something more powerful to hopefully reverse that a bit. I have dry sensitive skin and I’m starting to get redness between my eyebrows and either side of my nose.

If your skin is dry I would recommend an oil or rich moisturiser to use on top of retinol which can dry out the skin further. Start with a low percentage (and only a few times a week to begin with) and build your way up as your skin gets used to it. Especially given your sensitive skin. For wrinkles retinol is really the one active that is proven to work. Invest in a proper cleanser too, as shower gel will just dry the area out further (and make the wrinkles worse!). Doesn’t have to be an expensive one - something balmy for example would do the trick, or an oil cleanser.

Hi I’ve just started using Balance me products. Really impressed - vegan, cruelty free & made in uk. I use the moisture rich face cream (rose) in the day with a foundation with spf. The intensive wrinkle repair cream is really lovely & my skin feels plumper & soft in just a few nights use. Can’t comment if it reduces fine lines yet but it’s the best product I have come across in a while. Costs around £22.

Thanks for the product suggestions btw. Medik8 looks great but unfortunately costs even more than Paulas Choice. Inkey and the Ordinary are both owned by brands that test on animals.

Looking around and I’m not seeing massively cheaper options compared to the Paulas Choice that I was planning to return. Am I just being cheap? Is this how much decent skincare costs? How long would a 50ml moisturiser last?

Superdrug do an own brand range that is vegan/cruelty free.

Super drug vitamin e cream is good

You haven't said what product you bought from Paula's Choice. All I ever buy from there is the BHA 2%

Would second Superdrug and their optimum range with retinol

I bought the Resist Anti Ageing kit with four products, each around £34. So the cleanser, 5% AHA, night and day moisturiser. I thought for £34 a tube they’d be a decent size but they’re not. I was expecting twice the size for that price.

Maybe my expectation of how much it will cost to improve my wrinkles is too low? When I was young I used to wonder how come older people earned more but didn’t seem to be loads better off. Now I know - they spent it all on anti ageing stuff that I didn’t need because I was young!

@Ariannah

Looking around and I’m not seeing massively cheaper options compared to the Paulas Choice that I was planning to return. Am I just being cheap? Is this how much decent skincare costs? How long would a 50ml moisturiser last?

It seems like a fairly decent price to me. Normally I'd spend about £35 on my 50ml face cream. I've just checked my purchase history and the 50ml jar has lasted me 6.5 months. I just ran out last week and decided to splurge on the anti-aging one from the same brand which was about £55. Then I got fixated on anti-aging products and ordered the serum and eye cream from the same range which has set me back a bomb. I've never spent this much on face creams but to be honest I am loving them so far. So treat yourself! £25 seems very reasonable to me.

Indeed Labs retinol resurface might suit. Don't know about animal testing. Sometimes on offer at boots or on look fantastic, beauty expert, feel unique etc. Just Google it and check prices. Tube probably lasts about 3 months. Boots no7 has a retinol too, might be all right.

You need to wear proper sunscreen SPF every single day if you use retinol, so build that into your costs. A 50ml tube should only last about a month at most or you're not using enough. Altruist is in Amazon and very reasonably priced.

Any moisturiser will be fine as long as it is moisturising enough for your skin. You don't need an anti-aging one.

Retinol might dry out your skin and make it sensitive. It might be better to try a routine of a gentle cleanser, no hot water or scrubbing, and moisturiser and SPF to see if you can get the dryness under control. CeraVe is a very good budget brand but again I don't know about animal testing.

Sr-skincare.

Fantastic stuff. You can message her for advice, she is lovely.

www.sr-skincare.uk/

A 50ml tube should only last about a month at most or you're not using enough
Yeah, in that case the Paulas Choice is a no-go. I can’t spend more than about a tenner a week on all products, the PC spf cream alone would cost that.

I'd look at Cerave as a good moisturiser and then retinA - v cheap if you can get it online.
Take a look at Korean products. Amazing brands and very affordable via EBay if you can put up with the wait for delivery.

@Ariannah

A 50ml tube should only last about a month at most or you're not using enough Yeah, in that case the Paulas Choice is a no-go. I can’t spend more than about a tenner a week on all products, the PC spf cream alone would cost that.

I don't know what Paula's Choice it is, but if it's moisturiser with SPF it wouldn't be enough to protect your face anyway unless you put great big dollops on and normally you only use a small amount of moisturiser. You need a separate SPF to be sure you're getting protection, and top ups if you're out in the sun. I go by 2.5ml for face and neck but I've seen a whole teaspoon or just 2.5ml for face alone. I use SPF50 as if I'm not putting on quite enough I'm likely to be still getting good protection.

Pharmacy brands like La Roche Posay, Eucerin, Avène, Bioderma are all reasonably priced when they are on offer, and usually you'll find offers on one of the many beauty skincare sites.

Eucerin facial cream for dry skin with 5% urea might be an option if CeraVe PM or the big bottle of CeraVe moisturising lotion are no good because of animal testing. I don't know about Eucerin for animals either. CeraVe hydrating cleanser is also very reasonably priced.

Try Superdrug's range and the Inkey list. That's what I use. And Cerave (also at Superdrug). I mix these with good old Aveeno. My most expensive product is probably spf. £15 on a skincare product is my max!

I like Paula's choice products . I think they are nicely formulated and I appreciate they are not fragranced. The spf moisturisers are proper sun protection, so they have to have be applied liberally. They are 60 ml so not a bad quantity for face.
But there are good cheaper alternatives out there : Inkey list is a good one, Cerave as well.

I use Avon Anew eye cream it's about 10-15 quid you can usually get it for a tenner, they have a lot of offers.

Then I use Vichy Normaderm anti-ageing anti-blemish, resurfacing, it's around the same price, I bought some last week for a tenner.

Check out Skin + Me. £19.99 a month and it's tailored. I'm seeing good results after about 3 months.

Nothing is going to reverse ageing! And especially not a cheap moisturiser.

Retinol can help skin look smoother, so can a chemical exfoliant. Moisturising skin will make it look a little more plumped but won't get rid of lines between the brows or under the eyes.

Prevention is better than cure so SPF is the most crucial, but that's a long-term goal- UV/sun ageing doesn't show for many years after exposure so applying sunscreen in your forties won't halt ageing in it's tracks like people seem to think. SPF should be started in childhood to really benefit. That's not to say you shouldn't start now though!

Paula's Choice is the best option for skincare I think- it's not cheap, but not extortionate either, and when compared to other brands with similar credentials it's decent value.

Olay also another good choice and lots of their products get decent ratings on beautipedia.