Moisturiser for the Clueless Middle Aged!

[margotsdevil]

Please help.

I'd never had any sort of skin care routine (other than washing my face) until the last couple of years. Please take it as read that I now see the error of my ways!

After decades of reasonably stable (albeit oily) skin I'm now finding myself suffering from sore dry patches if I don't moisturise and generally make a bit more effort. This has coincided with my mid forties...

I've experimented with some cheap and cheerful products (serum, moisturiser and eye cream) over the last 18 months, as well as using Liz Earle cleanse and polish, but I now feel I'm ready to invest a little bit more for a higher end product.

What would people recommend? I have oily skin with the odd dry patch on my forehead if I'm not careful. Skin tends to be sensitive so I'm wary of acids or anything too strong. I'm happy to spend up to £100 for a moisturiser and would buy a serum on top of that if someone recommended. I do use CT Magic Cream as moisturiser/primer under make up but is this enough or should I have a different product for make up free days (most of the time!)? I'm not worried about SPF as I use a separate Clarins SPF.

You could start with Avene which is good quality and widely available but not expensive however Clarins products are (for me) infinitely better, especially for dry skin, and you are already a Clarins customer.

Go to a Clarins counter on a week day, trying to avoid lunch time and end of the day (i.e. busy times), explain your needs and get some samples.

I've been using Nivea which I loved but it was out of stock when I replaced it so I bought Astral. I don't use actives in moisturiser as I have a tret prescription and don't want anything that will react with it

So far it's going well, very moisturising and smells divine ( Shea butter)

You genuinely don't need to. If you want to invest in anything skincare-wise, a serum with peptides, or a vitamin C or a retinoid.
Moisturizers have one job to do. The formulations of serums means they make far more difference.

For a very rich night cream, Nivea Creme - the original blue pot is great. And only costs £1.75 for a small one if you don't like it. I like Elf Holy Hydration cleansing balm to take off makeup and for a no-nonsense moisturiser which I can layer with serums / acids etc.. the Ordinary is good for the day.

Buy Caroline Hirons book and join the FB group

Agreed. Blue Nivea is amazing.

OP- watch Nadine Baggott's 5 ingredients video. It changed me from being the woman with, at one time 23 different serums alone, to now using 5 products always, and one other twice a week. My skin has never looked better.

Thanks all. Some interesting food for thought there! Is Caroline Hiron "THE book" that I've heard colleagues talking about?!

Will go and do some more research on serums though!

Best I've found is Estée launder day cream.

Could we get a summary of the 5 ingredients, please?

My skin said a hard no to every moisturiser I tried, expensive or cheap, till I started using Cerave. It's the only one that hasn't made my face itch 2 minutes after applying it, and it sinks into the skin straight away with no greasiness.

Nivea in spring/summer and astral cream in winter. My sisters use it, my mum used it and my gran used the same ☺️

Agree that serum is where the smart money goes, so save your pennies and get a great serum.

For moisturizer, I’d be wary of some of the really rich ones, as they often have paraffin listed as an ingredient - it’s a petrol derivative!! It always pays to check (if this kind of thing bothers you)

Personally I love the Dr Jart Ceramidin in the yellow tube. It’s Korean and very simple but very effective. You can get it in Boots, so def worth a try next time you’re passing one.

Definitely don't spend £100 on a moisturiser.

Skin should be cleaned, moistured and protected from the sun.

I love the Illiyoon Ceramide Cream or Dr Jart or Dr Sam ones

I was using play for years then I switched to revitalift by L'Oréal it's not expensive but I honestly say after using for around 6 months my lines are much better

I agree that you don't need to spend £££ on moisturiser. I have normal/combination skin and find the blue pot Nivea too rich and greasy. It just sits on my skin and makes it feel sticky.

I am currently using the Nivea anti dark spot serum and moisturiser which has SPF50, and that works for me.

Actually, it's 5 products (my mistake)

A cleanser- needs to clean your face and take your makeup off. Goes down the plughole in such a short time that it can have any number of unicorn tears in it and a fancy price tag, but it'll still just take your makeup off.

A moisturizer -

A vitamin C in the morning

An Spf50

A retinoid in the evening.

These are the 5 essentials.

Extras might be:

An acid toner - these have replaced the scrubby gritty things of our youth. Salicylic for oily skins, glycolic for mature, though there are other variations for more sensitive skin (malic and lactic etc)

A peptide serum.

I'm really glad I asked the question! Clearly need to do some proper research before I commit!

Boots own range. Absolutely lovely and you can get 3 for 2. Called "Protect and ?"

Protect and Perfect @Notthrowingawaymyshot42.
I like the range as well.

I’ve always used cheaper moisturisers and put spf and serum under/on top. I like Garnier Vitamin C for daytime now and Aldi (I think it’s Aldi Q10 night) for night time.

I’ve almost always (but have veered from the path sometimes) used cheaper cleansers and toners. Eg I couldn’t get on with that cleansing oil which starts with a D from Korea.

As long as you cleanse properly and do the rest in your list you can’t go wrong.

@EllieBellieBee love that skincare tips were handed down through the generations 😁 the old ( been going a long time) products are usually the best! Do you also use the Nivea and astral creams for cleansing?

I do! I use Nivea for taking make up off, rinse with water then on goes the Astral in winter. I’ve tried a few alternatives over the years but they make my skin break out.

Planet's cocoa butter (tub).

I've started using Elemis very recently and I'm a total convert so far. QVC frequently have very good bundle offers.