Want to splurge on skincare, what works for you

[SpongeBlobSquareFace]

I trawl this board and I've had Dermatica and Skin& Me subscriptions but felt it was a waste as my skin dried out. I'm currently using No7 1per cent retinol in teeny amounts and adding castor oil on top.
I tend to be stingy with everything but I need a boost and am willing to throw good money at it.
I'm 55 and just want to hear if anyone else has used high end premium products and how they make you feel
I'm not expecting miracles it's more for the experience. If they do work that's a bonus
Thanks

OP, I get it. I have a mix of cheap and expensive products and in most cases, the expensive ones are because I just enjoy them more.

For me, the brand I always turn to when I want to spend a bit more and have more of an "experience" is Clarins. I find their products do work, and I mostly love using them. The Double Serum is a fantastic all rounder and I find it seems to make all my cheap and cheerful serums work better. It's also expensive upfront but actually very reasonably priced per use as it lasts forever.

Their moisterisers are great although I seldom buy them as I can get cheap and cheerful ones that work as well. I do like the face oil though - it's been weirdly transformational on my skin and I apply it last thing before sleep a few times a night. And I like their face washes and scrubs and body washes too! The hand cream is less of a great experience as I don't like the smell but it is the best handcream I've ever used.

The other brand I like a lot at the high end is Murad. Their vitamin C range is excellent and the cleanswer and moisteriser are my treat to myself on holiday - they smell like summer! . I hear great things about Medik8 too. But haven't tried them.

My one expensive daily product is my farmacy green clean cleanser - I just love the smell and feel. I suspect I would feel the same about the Elemis balm cleansers (And I keep getting ads for the black cherry one which I'm DESPERATE to try).

Hm, maybe Tatcha or Medik8 tho I am also tempted by the Dermalogica exfoliant
I have just finished the Indeed Labs version which was okay but not great
My skin has got a lot of dark spots but nothing shifts them
And I'm saggy not very wrinkly
Also use an LED mask
Maybe if I didn't I would look even worse? Who knows

Is that hyperpigmentation? I think vitamin C by day and retinol by night, consistently over a period of months, is probalby your friend. The Murad or Medik8 vitamin C might be good and whatever retinol you like. I have enjoyed the Neutrogena Retinol Boost as an entry level one. I'm on the Boost+ now and trying to decide what to do now that I want to go up another level.

Sounds like a hell of a faff in the morning!

@ bignanna not at all. It looks a lot written as a list, but it's just wash, wipe over, spritz, slap on and repeat a couple of times! Takes a few minutes I guess, but I'm used to it lol.

This, plus the oil and moisturiser in This set and a Espa, eye cream, weekly exfoliator and 24 hour moisturiser once a week.

Also mid 50s, my skin is lovely.

Someone on here recommends the Elemis stuff, I was using Medik8 before, much prefer the Elemis.

Same here! It is very good.
But I will continue to use No7 Laboratories Line correcting serum for the foreseeable future alongside this and stop No7 Future Renew Serum which is a weaker version on the Medik8 one. I do like peptides because they do actually work at repairing fine lines but particularly good on expression lines. Not sure what will happen if I ever have to stop using such products.

OP if you want to give a subscription service another go, try this one. It is a bit higher in price than the ones you mentioned but it is at the higher end and, hopefully, better for your skin.

https://klira.skin/how-it-works/?gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAAo6HS4mshdpHyfFXrLSdd8u4jizc0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMInKnNw4D2iwMV95xQBh1TfzvsEAAYASAAEgI24PDBwE

I love the SkinCeuticals brand, not crazy expensive but still a fair bit of money in my opinion.
My favourite at the moment is the Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2, I love it! It's so nourishing for my sensitive, acne rosacea prone skin. I've tried lots from SkinCeuticals & never really been disappointed but this is by far my favourite Triple Lipid Restore
Just seen it was £155 when i did the link! So it is expensive but it feels really luxurious

The Ordinary. Retinol, and orher things with complex names I can't remember. not once have I had a reaction to it

I’ve tried many of the top end ranges and the lure and appeal of beautiful scents, textures and packaging is real. You get an immediate buzz from buying and using them, it’s true.
In the long term though, you’ll only see visible improvements in your skin from two things; 1) a consistent daily routine (cleanse, moisturise, treat and protect)
AND
2) prescribed nightly actives (my own comes from Monderma).
My best friend is a Dermatologist and tells me they all use customised skincare!
If you had a bad experience with 2) before, don’t give up! Consider restarting and (for example) using a much lower strength formula, doing alternate days, adding moisturiser before or after etc… these factors will make a big difference. Most people go in with too strong a formula and wonder why their skin is unhappy. ‘Low & slow’ is the secret. Great skin doesn’t happen overnight.

La Mer all the way. I'm
A complete convert. It's not too much money if you think of it as instead of Botox

I’m very low maintenance, but I use Elemis pro collagen marine cream moisturiser every day. Makes my temperamental skin look calm and healthy and I love the smell. Cleanse with liz Earle, but that’s it. Wouldn’t know where to start with serums and acids.

I agree with the posters saying expensive isn’t always best.

i used to use mostly Elemis and Estee Lauder products and my skin wasn’t amazing.

I completely revamped my skincare and focused on ingredients rather than products and my skin is the best it’s ever been.

Moisture is key - I use a hydrating cleanser, then sandwich hyaluronic acid with a moisture spray, vitamin c for brightness, moisturiser and spf in the morning.

PM is my only real splurge product. Medik8 retinal.

Work out what your skin needs and add products one at a time. That way you can see which ones work for you and which ones don’t.

I’m a less is more person and really like to keep it simple, I use a strictly kiehls system of cleanser, face oils - one for day and one for night. Midnight recovery oil is amazing. I’ve used them for 15 years and my skin is great.

@BridgetCleaver Tatcha have a range of products for oily skin. I’m sure they will be luxurious but I can’t comment on their effectiveness.

I found the opposite. Skin & Me - zero response and no irritation at all (there was supposed to be 0.1% tretinoin in the formula) but the Dermatica same formula gives some reassuring irritation and then I get the tightening tret effect/improvement in texture.

I think the No7 retinol does the job insofar as I don't really have any wrinkles
For the sagging I do gua sha and face yoga and lymphatic drainage
I usually just use water for my morning wash then apply a vitamin C lotion I got from iHerb can't remember the name
I used the one from Victoria Health that's recommended on here but no difference
I'm also using Faded by Tropicals for the dark spots in the evening
No difference yet
So I guess I am after the luxurious experience rather than expecting them to do much! I'm their dream customer!
Maybe a mooch round some high end beauty counters is in order...

@SpongeBlobSquareFace I have a slight sag going on. I don't think anything helps other than surgery.

Retinol just made my skin really dry and didn't help my rosacea. I used The Ordinary Aloe and NAG serum and it was brilliant, transformed my skin in a week. Since then I've been using Tula Bright Start moisturiser with vitamin C. Just recently I've started using L'Oréal Revitalift Laser Tripeptide Serum (currently half price in Boots) and it's lovely. Contains peptides, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C.

La Mer for anyone who can afford it. And tret. I like Monderma's as it's meant to be vegan.

Retinol doesn't work IMO...

I've been trying a mix of oils (castor/ jojoba, vit e) for gua sha but I've reacted to them really badly and my skin is worse than ever.

I'm having to pare it back with simple cleansers and creams like cerave oil cleanser, nivea sensitive night cream and olay beauty fluid for day cream (used to have this as a teen) and my skin is recovering. I've just bought Astral to try for night cream, which I've not had for years.

Ordinary products are amazing and great value for money. I use a combination of those, alternating days with the ones which can’t be used together, Clinique take the day off cleanser, Clinique moisturiser, la Roche posay 50 tinted spf

Endolift laser works for tightening the jaw and neck areas.
It's a thin wire which goes under the skin and the heat from the wire (or tip of it? Not sure) is the actual treatment, it heats up under the skin as it is pulled along and it makes the skin react and tighten.
This is the basic way I understand it. You would need local anaesthetic, I understand it would be a bit uncomfortable from the heat. Depending on each case, it needs re-doing every 3-5 years and costs around £3000-4000/treatment. Which is actually not bad compared to a lower face lift.
Still sounds a bit scary!!!

Not sure I would want to internally cauterise my face causing scar tissue. Sounds revolting.

Slightly off topic, but re the castor oil? Can I ask what your purpose for this is? I only ask because when using various products I realised my face/chin seemed to become more hairy (esp the white fluff beard that I'm sure was new, or at least far more obvious). I had no idea why and thought firstly maybe my age or something but then came across something saying that castor oil is often used in hair products to promote hair growth, and I read a bit more around this. After realising this I started looking at some of the newer products/brands and realised that many that I used did indeed contain castor oil, frequently relatively near the top of the ingredients. I've been trying to remove or replace products, but was an absolute pita and some there were no effective replacements. Anyway, I've mostly given up as I now have no idea what I want to concentrate on or which skin condition I want to target most. And I have (unfortunately) very many skin issues that cover so many areas and I'm now just completely clueless overall and have mostly given up as I have no idea which are the most important to tackle.
So, yeah, more than just the castor oil Q I asked, and would still like replies about that as well. Thanks!