Cheap (ish) products that have really worked for you!

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

I always love these types of threads as I get so many useful tips from them!

For me

BedHead Small Talk - for lifting limp hair - it's not super cheap but a tiny bit goes a long way. Use it every day

Rimmel ScandalEyes kohl pencil and Made by Mitchell All Smudge No Budge eyeliner - I wear eyeliner most days and these stay on for 12+ hours, and look really sharp - about £9-10 each

ELF Pout Clout pens and their glossy lip oils - about £8 and look and feel nice

Ponds cold cream - have tried other, fancier cleansers but keep coming back to this

The Ordinary 0.2% retinol - also about £8 and use it almost nightly - together with marine collagen it's made a big difference to my skin

What are you go-to bargains?

Oh, and - Nyx Professional Wonder Pencil - highlighting pencil but I use it as a corrector for eye make-up mistakes too. About a fiver and a really nice consistency.

Barry M liquid eyeliner

By Terry loose powder, perhaps not very cheap but a trial size one from ebay will last you months

Cosrx 6 peptide serum, cheap and huge bottle lasts forever and I think its this which has helped my fine lines.

I love elf halo glow

nyx lip liners

vo5 volume spray

Body cream as face cream.

I’ve tried all sorts over the years, had oily acne prone skin now I have drier skin. Face cream is a waste of money, you spend a fortune for a tiny pot. Cerave lotion/cream or La Roche Posay in the 200ml sizes work fine on your face.

Rose water with glycerin. I use it before moisturiser and it’s giving me that ‘just moisturised’ feel even now, 12 hours later. Glycerin has all the same attributes as Hyaluronic acid insofar it is a humectant but for only £8 a bottle.

A hard agree! I used Guinot for years and had to abandon everything scented after chemo left my skin very sensitive. I now use Epaderm and my skin is just as good as it ever was.

Q and A Caffeine eye cream. Really good on puffy eyes and lasts ages.

Definitely The Ordinary - retinol, salicylic acid and their caffeine under-eye balm are all excellent.

glow hub serums are also very good.

Lacura lip oil from Aldi (quite a few Lacura products actually!)

Maybelline brow pomade has a good applicator/brush and is much better than Glossier’s boy brow.

Numbuzin products. Think it’s a Korean brand. I like their number 9 bio-essence moisturiser, and the eye cream. Decent price and lovely moisturisers.

e.l.f. lash XTNDR mascara. £8.00, does not budge. Vaseline hand and nail cream in pink bottle, about £3.00 when on offer.

Nivea creme in the blue pot. Cheap as chips and I swear it has kept my elevenses at bay.

Maybelline SuperStay Matt Ink - for the lips, lasts into the next day if you don't take it off!

Are you mixing this yourself? If so can I ask where you get your rose water from?

Are you using the standard Nivea creme on your face then? That's interesting! I feel like it would be too heavy but maybe I'll give it a try.

Child’s Farm after sun lotion as a body moisturiser is great! It has a coconut scent, but they do a normal body moisturiser without that scent. It’s about £4.50 a tube.

The best lip balm/moisturiser I’ve found for overnight is the Malin & Goez lip moisturiser. It’s not really cheap (about £15), but is loads better than more expensive ones I’ve tried.

I’ve recently discovered Essie gel couture nail polish. I got 2 for £15 and I have to say it’s as good as, if not better, than Chanel varnishes.

Boots sell it, cheap as chips

I’ve read this before. People swear by the blue Nivea and say it’s a La Mer dupe. It didn’t suit me (was too heavy) but it’s worth a try for the price! My daughter’s friends like the Nivea Soft as face cream. Again, it didn’t suit her, but others swear by it.

The ordinary squalene cleanser. I was using cleansers about 3 times the price for about a decade and it's amazing for my dry skin!

I'm fanatical about castor oil! I've moisturised with it every night for about 2 years and my skin has never looked better. A bottle is about £15 from Holland and Barratt. I decant a small amount into a pipette bottle for use. The large bottle will last me around 3 years.

I should add - you need to thin it down very slightly for use, otherwise it's too thick. I thin it with Frankincense.

I buy Eternal Beauty rosewater and glycerine from Amazon. Just checked and it’s half the price I quoted because I bought two last time. Happy days. 100ml is £3.50

Elf Power Grip Primer. Every bit as good as Milk

At night time, yes.

Those of you using the Maybelline brow pomade - is it the one in the big round pot?

Tesco sensitive skin cleansing gel. £1.67

It's better (at least for my skin) than any of the expensive ones. 😊

Nivea Crème and Nivea Soft - I use the Crème on my face and the Soft on my face and body.