How to pare back beauty products once retired

[Cocojazz]

I'm in my sixties and planning to retire in around 18 months. I love Clarins products and I currently subscribe to Beauty Pie as their stuff is gorgeous. However, once retired I probably won’t have the funds for luxury skincare so I’m looking for ways to pare back my routine and take out what isn’t necessary.
I’ve appreciated how much better my skin is with a good cleanser and using a flannel to wash my face.Obviously day and night moisturisers are key, as is a good SPF. So now I’m thinking do I still need things like acid toners, serums, Vitamin C drops etc.?
When I was younger it was cleanse, tone and moisturise and I’m wondering whether to go back to that basic routine? Also I should probably be looking at cheaper brands so does anyone have any tips or advice to offer? I still want to take care of my skin but wonder if expensive products do make a difference, and if so, what should I concentrate on? TIA.

Ive found Ive needed to add to my routine as Ive gotten older, not cut

But Im budget rather then high end

At the moment what's working for me is a foaming cleanser and muslin cloth or flannel morning and night. Just a bog standard chemist own brand. Superdrug did lovely one in a pump bottle which I really loved - discontinued so using aa tube but on the look out for a replacement

Then on with the hyaluronic acid. I will buy from the ordinary and Ive just found Home Bargains are doing Inkey List for £3.99 so I cleared the shelf nearly , I also check out TK Maxx

Im also adding Niacinamide serum because I still have an oil slick of a t zone - again from Inkey or The Ordinary

My skin ( and cosmetics ) is really doing well with Avon Anew moisturiser and serum.

I don't do sunscreen, where I live, we rarely see it and when we do its pretty pee poor, but I do wear sunglasses especially during the winter where the sun is so low

Given up on an eye cream , none of them I have tried has made any significant difference to justify the price but I do use a collagen eye mask twice a week - again cheap as chips from home bargains and I do see a difference

I went into JL and stopped by the beauty counters where they have almost every high-end moisturiser on display to sample - I was really underwhelmed - they smell and feel mostly indistinguishable. The only one that stood out was a brand called Fresh that smelled like a bunch of fresh roses.

Also you can usually buy products cheap on Vinted - they started doing cosmetics and I sometimes get things on there - I got two massive tubes of The Ordinary moisturiser for £10 for example (would have been £30) and a bottle of Elemis ProCollagen serum for £10 (would have been £35)

Glycerin is for smoothing, hyaluronic acid adds volume and plumpness. It's best to apply both daily.

I've wondered about this for a while. I'm a few years from retirement, and wanted to start acclimatising my budget. I no longer buy clothes that would only be for work. My clothes are great and will last. But toiletries have been a problem. One solution has been to stick with some things but buy the biggest version during a sale. For instance, I'm happiest with Aveda botanics shampoo and conditioner, so I wait for a sale and buy the 200 litre. Not only do they last all year, I get freebies. I think I may have bought my last eve lom cleanser. Although I do use the ordinary, and had tried the squalene cleanser in the past, only recently did I think it was really good. Then, in terms of steps, I've pared right down. I no longer try new things, it's just cleanser, glycolic acid, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, balm moisturiser, foundation with sun factor 40.

I'm 61 & just use a basic Cerave oil based wash off Cleanser & Moisturiser. Plus the Ordinary Rosehip Oil at night & Azelaic acid on top of moisturiser in the morning. I do still buy Clinique make up and the oil make up cleanser though, as I react to nearly everything else.

I find Superdrug's own brand of skincare brilliant, and it is cruelty free.

I am not brand loyal because I have even tempered skin and have found that a £10 pot of moisturiser behaves no differently on my skin to a £40 pot. So I just don't buy expensive skincare.

Just moisturiser, SPF and cleanser. I don't use anything else and have very good skin.

Look at Dr Justine Kluk on Instagram. She's a dermatologist and has lots of good advice.

I recommend signing up for the loyalty programmes of every brand/supplier you are interested in. You can also get good offers/freebies on your birthday, (I got a £5 voucher and a free gift from SPACENK, for example).

I am also an enthusiastic collector of samples and trial sizes!

Allbeauty.com and LF often have good reductions/offers but it’s sometimes cheaper to buy direct from the company - Clinique and Clarins are often good for GWP.

I use EL ANSerum and various other products, but I am no longer ‘brand loyal’ like I used to be. I go where the bargains are!

I am a huge fan of Aldi’s night oil and Vitamin C/Tumeric oil and of their Drunk Elephant dupes.

SPF is everything.

I've been using Waitrose Pure cleanser- a milk- which is £2.50!
It's amazing. Does the job, no perfume, very gentle.

I've also got ELF cleansing balm- £10- which is very similar to Clinique Take the Day off.

I've swapped from Clinique to Olay Regenerist or Vit C and buy it from Amazon for half price - around £15.

Boots No 7 Future Renew is nice.

Iv'e a couple of the Ordinary serums.

My go to every day is Ultrasun face lotion, spf 50. This goes over my moisturiser every single day if I'm going outside. I've done this since my 30s and if anyone asks how I've got few wrinkles I say 'sun block'- every single day.

I've used Clarins in the past but found it too perfumed and all 'hype'. I think it really is just clever marketing.

I've also swapped from Lancome mascara £30 ish to Loreal and prefer it.

The one thing I won't economise on is foundation.

I have recently discovered The Inkey List. Their products are high quality, but stunningly cheap. I haven’t found I needed serum until the past year (I’m 66 in a few months). I was using a £60 plus version, but it turns out that The INKEY List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum is the bees knees. It’s usually £12, but is often 20% off. It can be used around the eyes too, so no need for eye cream. When I have finished my £81 (bought with a heavy discount, so it didn’t cost me that) jar of L'OCCITANE Immortelle Divine Face Cream, I will use an Inkey list moisturiser too. I also like The Ordinary. It’s another high quality, but cheap brand. Sadly, I find their serum, though good, sticky and I hate that. So my quest for a great serum at a good price continued until I found The Inkey list.

I'm mid sixties and don't think that expensive skin care products make a noticeable difference. I think keeping out of the sun make the biggest difference. You can use SPF but better still wear a hat and stay in the shade.
As for lotions, Aldi's Lacura creams work as well as anything.
I have a This Works night cream, which I do like as it feels good going on, but it doesn't make any real difference.
My mum uses Oil of Olay sporadically, and washes her face with cold water. Neither of us use soap on our face. We both have good skin, and I'm convinced it's genetics, aka luck of the draw!
I think the cosmetics and skincare industry does a great job marketing and promoting its products, but we really don't need most of it.

I couldn't agree more @DelphiniumBlue

@DelphiniumBlue I'm beginning to think the same!

Definitely have loved a lot of the Ordinary & Inkey products mentioned above. But I’ve been loyal to the La Roche Posay Citaplast Moisturiser and SPF50 for a while now coupled with a monthly formula (Tret, Niacinamide and Azaelic from Monderma), and then I’ve been chopping and changing between a couple of very gentle cleansers and that’s basically it for me now! That’s as parred back as I can be and would like to be I think!

I agree. I use serum and moisturiser because my skin needs moisture. I choose what to use based on how it feels and how it smells. I draw the line beyond a certain price, but I won’t save a few pounds by using something I don’t like the feel of. I’m currently using The Inkey List Serum and will try their moisturiser when my current one runs out. I do have a weakness for some this works stuff because I love the smell.

All of the industry’s promises about removing/preventing wrinkles is nonsense though imo!

I choose what to use based on how it feels and how it smells

Same here.

Q +A skincare is excellent and great value. Recommended!

couldn't agree more! 99% of the products on the shelf are the same base ingredients at the very least. You can go cheap on most things like moisturiser and cleanser as long as they’re gentle.

the only thing I’d invest in is a tretinoin! The active ingredients from these online places like monderma and dermatica are really the only genuine things that will make a difference to your skin imo!

OP, I’m in my sixties and like you have had access to numerous brands over the years. I’m now 100% convinced that a simple, consistent routine with just a few effective products is way better than consistently trying new things, spending a fortune and (almost always) feeling disappointed with results! Like many here I recommend The Ordinary - their Squalane cleanser is as good as many at treble the price and suits all skin types (even my teen loves it). Add a moisturiser, daily SPF and a powerful retinoid (not retinol - the former is very much stronger) at night and you will see how your skin flourishes over the weeks and months. My girls and I subscribe to Monderma for high strength active blends, and I won’t go back to over the counter products as the custom formula they send for bedtime use is prepared for your particular skin issues and goals. The first month is half price. (Skin and Me similar). Keep it simple is my advice. You won’t miss and really don’t need dozens of products.