Budget Skin Care Products!

                      Budget Skin Care Products!

Hey! I've had some messages asking for budget skin care products so I've decided to share my tried and tested favourites in a blog post. Some products mentioned may be ones I don't currently have so I will leave links to purchase where ever I can. I will leave a few options for each product. All the products can be found in your usual drugstores such as Superdrug and Boots but some can also be found hiding in unexpected places like Aldi! 

Spoiler: Lacura Skin Care gets a 10/10 from me! Lets dive in shall we?

Skin care starts by removing everything from your face including makeup, skin care, SPF and general day to day dirt. We touch our faces a lot without realising! I follow the Double Cleanse method which is you do two cleanses, the first usually with an oil based cleanser.  After double cleansing you should be able to wipe a clean cotton pad or wash cloth over your face and there will be no residue. If you're still removing dirt, you haven't cleansed properly.

If I'm being a bit lazy or I don't have much on I always use Garnier Micellar Water and a Face Halo. Garnier Micellar Water is a holy grail product for me and I've never had any issues with it whatsoever. I love the Face Halo as its more like a towel material so gently exfoliates the skin too. I find some reusable cotton pads too soft and these can make the surfactants in micellar water start to foam. Micellar water is definitely a holiday product for me too as I rarely wear anything other than SPF abroad so its a good quick freshen up in hot weather too.

My favourite cleansing oils are the Super Facialist Vit C Cleansing Oil. I love this oil for a first cleanse as its such a dreamy product. It contains Vitamin C, perfect for brightening dull skin, a citrus scent (obviously!) and a little goes a long way. I purchased mine for £9 in Morrisons and considering you get a 200ml bottle you can go wrong for £9. With oil cleansers you don't need a lot, I use 2-3 drops depending on what I've got on my face. I warm it up in my hands and then start on the eyes to begin breaking down mascara. I then bring it out to my cheeks and then the rest of my face. Don't forget to go down your neck too! This is the perfect time to give yourself a nice little face massage whilst working the oil in. To rinse I will use warm water and a flannel. White flannels are the best as its satisfying to see how much dirt comes off!

Another fab cleansing oil is the Boots Glow Cleansing Oil. Another oil that gives you a brighter complexion for just £4! This oil is does have a strong scent of melon to me but I enjoy it .I again start on the eyes then work my way out onto my cheeks and neck and remove with a flannel. You can apply 1 drop to a cotton pad to remove eye make up if you want to. Tubing mascaras can be harder to remove so an oil helps to break them down quickly.

For my second cleanse I usually like to go in with a face scrub or wash. I love a facial scrub as i like to feel like I'm removing dirt from my skin. My all time favourite is the Soap and Glory Face Soap and Clarity Scrub. Another Vit C product! This also contains Mint, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Sage and Chamomile. I love this stuff to bits and have used it for years. I gently polishes and buffs away dead skin cells without leaving your skin feeling stripped or tight. It also has a pleasant cooling sensation so makes a nice scrub for hot summer days! It comes in a large size and less than £10. In my opinion I'd always rather spend a little more for a larger size as things do last a good while.

Another face wash I've been loving is one that's recently quite new to me and that is the Neutrogena Oil Balancing Facial Wash. I like to use this on days where my skin is quite oily. As a hairdresser I spend most of my day blow drying and I've always been the kind of person that gets hot really quickly and soon enough my face is an oily mess! A lot of oil balancing products can leave your face feeling quite dry but this one doesn't. I also love the fresh scent it has. It contains Lime and Aloe Vera, comes in a 200ml pump bottle and is a gel consistency. One pump is more than enough and it also features a locking system so no spills if it falls over! It leaves my skin fresh and clear but without feeling like sandpaper! Also another bargain at £4.99 and there is a Pink Grapefruit version too.

After my double cleanse I then like to treat any acne if I have any. I love a good exfoliating skin wipe. My go to for spots are the Boots Tea Tree & Witch Hazel Exfoliating Pads. I love Witch Hazel as its a soothing ingredient and Tea Tree is a natural healer. I focus mainly on where any spots are then give a quick wipe over the rest of my face. Again a bargain at £5 and one tub definitely lasts well over a month. Nip & Fab do some great pads too, their Glycolic Fix range is fab if you have more of a budget

I'm also a fan of acid toning and I love The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning liquid. I apply either with my hands or a reusable cotton pad. This toner brightens, delicately exfoliates and improves skin texture. Constantly sold out but I grab a bottle when ever its in stock! Again less than £10 and the bottle is huge!

Another toning solution I love is the Lacura Rose Tonic. Aldi have smashed it out of the park with their skincare dupes. Quite obviously a dupe for Pixi Glow Tonic this stuff is the same. I again use either my hands or a reusable pad and apply to my t zone, cheeks and neck. it instantly gives you a fresher looking, radiant face. It is an Aldi special buy but it has come back a few ties due to its popularity so I'm always checking the store and app for it. Most recently it came back for Mother's Day so you should find it instore at the moment.

My favourite part, sheet masks! I don't do it every night but at least once a week I love to do a sheet mask for hydration. My go to masks are the Simple Kind To Skin Sheet Mask and the Garnier Fresh Mix Sheet Mask. The Simple ones are exactly that, simple! Chuck them on, grab a cuppa and a good book and relax for 15 minutes! These ones always leaves my skin feeling intensely hydrated and I sometimes keep the rest of the liquid from the packet in a travel jar to use again the next day. Don't waste it! I also love the Garnier ones as you mix it yourself. I love Hyaluronic Acid so that one is naturally my favourite. Once you've added the serum to the mask it gives it a gel like texture and again my skin is always left feeling moisturised and soft. I can still feel the effects of these ones in the morning too! I also find Garnier sheet masks don't tend to slip either.

If I do a clay mask then my favourite is the Nip and Fab Salicylic tub. A bit more expensive at the £20 mark but if you think of how many times you would buy an individual mask sachet then this is less expensive in the long run. I like to apply clay masks with a flat foundation brush and of course you rinse these off once they're dry. 

I love a good moisturiser and a friend introduced me to the Nivea Q10 cream. I absolutely love this stuff. It sinks into the skin like butter and you wake up baby smooth in the morning. It's a lovely, rich cream texture and the smell reminds me of summer! Another cream I buy when its back is the Lacura Skin Caviar ones from Aldi. My mum uses these religiously and has done for a few years now and she loves them. Again these are a Special buy but they are back in store for Mother's Day on their own and as a set including a sheet mask which they've not done before so I'll definitely be looking for those when I next go shopping!

SPF! SPF isn't just for holidays. If you're sitting in front of a window on a cloudy day you still need to be wearing SPF as those rays are still there! I really love the Bondi Sands Sunscreen Lotion. It applies easily and doesn't leave that white cast. I always give it ten minutes between applying SPF and another product as I do find SPF quite oily on my skin so I like to give it as long as I can to sink in. Another product I love is Bondi Sands Coconut Lip Balm. I could eat this stuff! It smells amazing and I love a good lip balm. The only downside is I reapply a lot as I constantly lick it off as it smells so good!

Well, I think that's everything! I've tried to give a few options for each step but always remember to take your skin type into account when searching for new products. When it comes to purchasing I like to buy 2-3 of the cheaper products and then I'll treat myself to the high end version by buying one expensive product every couple of months or so. Your skin is your biggest organ and it does so many things that we don't realise and we need to love it and care for it! Don't forget to treat yourself to a facial now and then too!

I hope this helps you all a bit and I hope you find some new favourites!

Thanks for reading & I'll see you on the next post.

Cx