Tell me your bargain beauty secrets please!

[bumblingalong]

Hi, since having 3dc still in nappies my shopping sprees in boots have had to be curtailed- well transfered to the baby section so was wondering what bargain beauty products you use that are better than the pricey alternative?

Mine so far are baking soda toothpaste is better at whitening teeth than the whitening toothpaste, a plain aqueous cream makes my hands softer than any cream I've used (& I'm a hand cream addict ) and Avon hair serum is fantastic!

johnsons holiday skin! brill

Vaseline. I always have a little tin in my bag. Good for when ds gets dry patches too.

E45 cream. Best moisturiser by far. And again fab for ds's dry bits

Atrixo hand cream is like Creme de la Mer. (read that somewhere, have never tried CdeLaMer)

A few drops of the relevant essential oil in a cold cream base turns it into Decleor.(my aromatherapist said)

Since having ds, I have discovered the wonder of the baby wipe - used to use face cleanser wipes from Botanics or No. 7 but now use Huggies wipes which are about 1/3 of the cost and work just as well on my skin. (Also amazing at cleaning spills on carpets)

Organic surge products - stopped spending a fortune on Decleor products, as lovely as they were, and now just use some almond oil along with organic surge moisturiser - the fash wash really gentle for morning, and cleanser for night removed with muslin cloth.... lovely stuff for sensitive skin...

No 7 version of touche eclat is good.

Almond oil for everything else - nails/hands/body. Sesame oil for hair mask.

Have yet to find a good alternative to Clarins eye gel though! Any suggestions?

I'm smiling at you elemental for using the same product for baby's bum, your face and your carpet! Brilliant!

Agree with the baby wipes, mine are old enough to not really need them any more, but I think I will buy them forevermore! I use them for everything inc taking make up off, getting hair dye off my forehead, cleaning around the bathroom when I'm being a lazy beggar time saving.

Aqueous cream is fab as a make up remover also, and to wash with.

Baby shampoo is great for cleaning make up brushes & sponges.

Collection 2000 version of YSL touche eclat is amazing and only £4 ish.

Is clarins eye gel effective then Mirrorball?

Biocura,face powder compact by Aldi. The shade I use is '10 transparent.' Its excellent. I used to use Yellow powder by Bobbi Brown but to be honest, I prefer this and its soooo cheap.

I also use the black mascara by the same Aldi range.

I also use olive oil & salt/sugar as a bodyscrub. Much better than any shop bought scrub.

Ohh jbg do you mind me asking what skin tone you have, please? Have picked up that Aldi face powder so many times and put it back as I wasn't sure if it would suit me!

I love Aldi's Siana anti wrinkle day cream. I have quite sensitive skin and it doesn't react badly to this at all and at such a cheap price I slather it on whereas with an expensive cream I feel I have to eke it out a bit!
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Waitrose baby bottom butter as face cream and general moisturiser. Honestly, it's great.

will be legging it to my nearest aldi tomorrow- didn't know they did a beauty range let alone a good one!

Thanks for the collection 2000 tip mrsmeow, I'm currently rationing the last of my YSL touche eclat & my undereyes need it

bumblingalong that's ok I'm sure I saw it in Boots the other day, on offer for £3.99 (normally £5)

It's really very good, I use it to cover up spots as well!

I used the Aldi cream as well, I think the one that cost a whole £2.99!

Not saying it was as good as my favourite Neal's Yard or Elemis, but it was very definitely as good as say, Olay, Boots, L'Oreal, Garnier, that sort of mid-price range (including the Olay regenerist some saleswoman talked me into paying £30 for which was fairly rubbish)

Rosewater is a lovely toner. Smells good too.

Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment is very similar to Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour cream. Good for lip balm, rough cuticles, mild skin rashes, insect bites, baby butts...

Cornsilk - yes the eye gel is really good for puffy, hungover , sleep deprived eyes.

Mrs Miow, My skin tone is fairly pinkish (irish heritage) and altho the powder looks pale, after i apply with brush, I just 'brush' a bit more and it looks totally nautural with no shine on my shiny nose!

Thanks similar to me, I'll pick some up next time I'm in Aldi.

I second Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter

Akamuti Sweet Orange oil cleanser

I also buy shea butter and cocoa butter and various oils from Akamuti and make my own body butter

Coconut oil, I originally bought it to use on DD's hair but it's amazing as a pre-shampoo conditioner for me.

I second rose water and orange blossom water too - from Turkish supermarkets!

And Skin Wisdom moisturiser from Tesco - cheap and good.

Superdrug's Vit E range. Their illuminating face cream is about £3 and has SPF15. Also their face scrub is pretty good.

Again, Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter, very handy to have about, especially if you suffer from dry patches of skin.

Erm, sure there is more....

Oh, yes, TreSemme hair stuff. I know it is not exactly a secret, but have only started using it quite recently (£1.99 a huge bottle in Savers) and it is FAB!

Natural Collection blusher isn't bad - a bit like Dandelion. I bought it after a rec on here and it's as good as my Clinique and No 7 ones for only around 1.99.

Max Factor mascara is a s good as everything I've ever tried except a Clinique one which I think they don't make any more.

Revlon nail varnish is pretty good and so are their eyeliners.

Crushed aspirin for a face mask and a foot scrub/mask.

I also use it on ingrowing hairs and spots, 29p for a pack of 16 in sainsburys.

Rice bran oil as make-up remover - from the cooking oil section in the supermarket, less than £2 a bottle and lasts ages. Slather it on and remove with kitchen roll soaked in hot water. You don't need moisturiser afterwards either.