OS beauty products

Littlebean_2

As a newbie money saver I have reluctantly concluded that my beloved Clarins and Clinique habit will have to go. Can anyone recommend good OS beauty products suitable for a 30-something (well, nearer to 40 if I'm honest) with normal/dry skin. I used to use a 50:50 mix of witchazel/rosewater as a toner which I liked but what do people use as a good cleanser and moisturiser? I have two babies under 18 months so have limited time for making up HM products at the minute. Good, cheap shop-bought stuff would be fine and much cheaper than Clarins;)

lswwong

Joanna Lumley makes her bath water "soft" by hanging a muslin bag of oatmeal underneath the bath tap. She looks good!

My Asian friend's relatives in SA use sliced cucumbers and strawberries as eye masks - the fruit acids in there are good for keeping skin rejuvenated.

Eat plenty of apples, if you like them. The pectin in apples help keep wrinkles away. Organic ones would be great.

A few thick slices of fresh ginger in hot water (or a mild green tea) will help to clear "gas" and aid circulation. This will then help one's complexion and skin tone.

freyasmum

To be honest I can't tell you exactly what will work for your skin as I would have to see it first, but I can tell you this... cleansers, like shampoos, are just 'detergents' to remove impurities, so you don't have to spend megabucks on them anyway. I quite like boots own make (especially the cucumber one) - you don't have to buy the toner (and be sure to remove your toner, I don't actually bother with it myself) if you use witchhazel/rosewater. Same with moisturiser, for a budget I like boots.

Also, while you are in the bath, get a nice warm flannel and lay it on your face for a good steam - relaxing and it will help to draw out the impurities.

And, as I'm sure, don't use soap (if you have to at a push, make sure it's pH balanced) which will strip your skin of it's protection

HTH,
Linzi x

Cazzdevil

I'll repeat myself til I'm blue in the face with this one - the BEST moisturiser in the world is Aqueous Cream which you can get by the half kilo tub from any chemist for about £1

Rub over wherever you want moisturised (legs, arms, face etc) then rinse off and pat dry - it leaves a nice fine coating on your skin which traps moisture in to keep you nice and soft, is hypo-allergenic, is fragrance free, and is CHEAP AS CHIPS!!!

Belive me - it's definitely worth having a go.

EDIT: It's actually an emolient and is used for skin cleansing and moisturising of skin anyway. It's the base for loads of the expensive creams.

freyasmum

course, you could always use oil, too... I like an oil and sugar scrub

redballoon_2

milk of magnesium is good for a facial as is disolved asprin tablets

trigger2

I used to use Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish face cleanser, about £11 a bottle, but now have discovered Tesco's equivalent range by Bharti Vias (sp ?), a deep cleansing balm for £5 a pot (which lasts ages). Honestly its so similar & so much cheaper, I use that now. When the pot (& purse) is nearly empty then I use a bar of Dove ! I have also recently experimented with Tesco value shampoo - seems fine to me. I have coloured hair (dark), slightly on greasy side & I wash it every day, & I find this shampoo fine. Asda's henna conditioner is meant to be good too, I'll buy that when I finish my exisiting conditioner. Face cream - I use Oil of Olay or tescos own (do prefer Olay tho). For a body moisturiser try some sort of oil eg, olive. Get rid of spots using toothpaste or milk of magnesia as a face mask. Have a look thro MSE, theres threads about this somewhere !

WelshWoofer

I'm a Clarins/Clinique girl too and found that the Marks and Spencers facial range is remarkably like Clarins - works justa s well for me and is about a quarter of the cost. Alternatively, Clinique is really cheap in the US - get someone who's going to buy you some!

Littlebean_2

Thanks for the replies, I'll definately try the Aqueous cream Cazzdevil as we have huge pots in the house for DS's dry skin. The warm flannel trick also sounds good - thanks to all who replied.

goonlord

I've always been a bit of a Clinique girl too (although now really into Lush - fab Ultra Bland cleanser is £4.50 a tub).

The best eye make-up remover I have ever found (better even than Clinique) is Boots own from the Fragrance Free range (blue bottles). About £1.49 and frequently on BOGOF or 3 for 2. It shifts everything in seconds.

squeaky

There an entire and complete section in the MEGA Index about this...

MAKEUP & BODY CARE