Fight back against over-priced cosmetics! Post your cheap but outstanding discoveries

Magpye

I love this thread! :T It's given me so much to look out for, I will be trying out the rosewater for sure as I used to love the Body Shop's Honey Water (it has been discontinued for years but if anyone knows of something similar I will be forever grateful!)

My recommendations would have to be Rose Geranium BalmBalm which I used as an eye, lip, cheek and hand moisturiser while skiing in Austria and it did a superb job of keeping the Alpine chill off my skin. If I have breakouts I use pure Tea Tree oil and seal it with some pure Aloe Vera gel. Aloe Vera saved my skin quite literally when I caught a nasty fungal infection from the shower rooms in the gym and the doctor gave me some terrible medicated lotion which burned me all over and left me with open sores! :eek: The aloe vera gel calmed and stopped the itching and also healed over the open skin. Good for sunburn too.

For sore cracked skin my favourite has to be pawpaw ointment, which is literally fermented pawpaw with a tiny amount potassium sorbate as preservative. It is expensive but a tub lasts ages (we bought ours in Australia and it was $8.45 for 75g, but all the UK companies I've found selling it are much more expensive) and I find it really helps healing. I use it as an intensive lipbalm and eye cream at night as it's really thick and puts a layer on your skin.

On the makeup side I really like my current foundation, Collection 2000 Sheer Moist as it doesn't clog and is oil free. I usually use it over Clean and Clear Morning Glow moisturiser which has little golden bits of mica in it so I don't need an illuminator but if I look a bit washed out under the eyes, sometimes I'll mix the foundation with a little dab of Urban Decay Special Sauce in Glow (think this might be discontinued now) which is pinky and brightens up your skin tones without making you look like you've been irradiated.

I'd love some more recommendations on mascara though as I haven't been able to find one I like in ages (Bourjois Clubbing mascara at the moment which is thick and gloopy and the brush is awful - not recommended.)

EagerLearner

Magpye wrote: »

I love this thread! :T It's given me so much to look out for, I will be trying out the rosewater for sure as I used to love the Body Shop's Honey Water (it has been discontinued for years but if anyone knows of something similar I will be forever grateful!)

Hey Magpye thanks for the great ideas - search ebay for rose water - or see this link for a nice shop that is organic & not expensive:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100-pure-organic-Rose-Otto-floral-water-110mls_W0QQitemZ350048812897QQihZ022QQcategoryZ1279QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Diane60

Oh b****r! Got the skin brightening. When is it being discontinued. Im off for a basket load. Whats the new one like? Will it fill the cracks in hubbys face?

Diane60

Sorry, the above post is inrespect of Liz Earle V Tesco cleanser!!!

harryharp

Diane60 wrote: »

Oh b****r! Got the skin brightening. When is it being discontinued. Im off for a basket load. Whats the new one like? Will it fill the cracks in hubbys face?

Laughed out loud at this!
I think from what the guy told me on the Tesco careline, they're selling off all the ones they already have and not producing any more.
As to filling cracks- I'll let you know once I've tried it myself!

harryharp

Magpye wrote: »

My recommendations would have to be Rose Geranium BalmBalm which I used as an eye, lip, cheek and hand moisturiser while skiing in Austria and it did a superb job of keeping the Alpine chill off my skin.

Many thanks for all your recommendations Magpye.

Found the BalmBalm website: http://www.balmbalm.com/acatalog/index.html
Please can you tell us which Rose Geranium Product you've used- as there seem to be 3 different ones- for lips, face and hands. Also please can you tell us where you buy it? The website says Boots and Superdrug but it's not on their websites. Cheers!

Re. mascara recommendations- check out the first post for ones suggested by posters on this thread so far.

Thanks again!

Unity

Today I took delivery of one of the eyeshadow palettes of 88 colours, plus a socket line brush and a concealer brush from Crown Brushes as recommended by Angel81. The palette is amazing, there's every colour I could want and then some - the only question I would ask is - can you use the colours wet as well as dry? Perhaps Angel can answer that one . The Studio brushes are excellent and look exactly the same as those from i.d. Bare Escentuals Mineral range - but a lot cheaper!!!:T :T :T Delivery from Crown Brushes is excellent too - I only ordered yesterday!

I also bought the 17 foundation from Boots, getting a couple of colours to make hopefully 'the right shade'. I actually bought them separately to get the free eyeshadow compact twice - two stocking fillers for my daughters next Christmas. Another thing to mention is that I was also given a £2 voucher on each occasion to spend on Bourjois, Revlon or Ruby and Millie Cosmetics - Result!:rotfl: . All I'm waiting for now is the Dermacolor concealer palette and I'm sorted.

As to mascara, I've been using Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara in black since it was launched and it's the best I've found. It really does make my lashes look much longer and thicker without any clumps and I always comb through after applying so my lashes look nicely separate.

http://www.saveonmakeup.co.uk/acatalog/Bargain_Basement_.html have some Revlon blushers on special offer £0.99 in their clearance section, they are unboxed but have little plastic covers that click on to keep them clean. I bought one of these and it's a steal for 99p.

StompingOgre

Has anyone used the No7 Instant Radiance Foundation . Is it any good.

Also is theNo7 Instant Radiance Concealer as good as the YSL touch eclat.

If so then might buy it as boots is giving the concealer free with the foundation.

thanks for your help in advance

harryharp

StompingOgre wrote: »

Has anyone used the No7 Instant Radiance Foundation . Is it any good.

Also is theNo7 Instant Radiance Concealer as good as the YSL touch eclat.

If so then might buy it as boots is giving the cocealer free with the foundation.

thanks for your held in advance

Don't know about anyone else, but I've tried the Boots version of the concealer and thought it was rubbish- really cakey in texture, even worse than YSL.

StompingOgre

harryharp wrote: »

Don't know about anyone else, but I've tried the Boots version of the concealer and thought it was rubbish- really cakey in texture, even worse than YSL.

thanks . thats one problem with make up ... different ppl have different reviews on the product . very confusing !!!

can some1 suggest a good cocealer for dark circles . is it okay to just wear a concealer under the eyes as i dont really need foundation on my face.