I have said it before: I am a low budget kind of girl when it comes to make up and toiletries. I am into budget beauty.
Don’t believe the hype
At my age I have tried so many products and I no longer believe the pseudo science or advertising hype. All I need is a cleanser of some kind, some cotton wool and a moisturiser without too much fragrance in it. I don’t get on with soap for this as I have dry skin.
I use an exfoliator once or twice a week – the St Ives apricot stuff is fine. We have shower gel in the house as the others like it but actually I still prefer soap and a flannel. I always use body lotion, again because of the dry skin.
Because I tend towards being too pale and showing any tiredness immediately I always wear a little makeup. I use a razor and soap to get rid of the fuzz, pluck my own eyebrows and do myself the odd manicure and pedicure. It would be nice to visit the beauty salon to be waxed and preened but it’s not in my budget.
I quite fancy getting my nails done, but I know I would wreck them in 10 minutes doing the garden! I dye my own hair but draw the line at cutting it…
Budget beauty at Aldi
When I was in Aldi the other day buying the night cream that I use I had a good look at their range of toiletries. They are excellent value. This particular moisturiser costs £1.99 and is as good as anything else I have ever tried, including the Clarins range that I used to spend a small fortune on. Home Bargains is another that I like for shampoos, shower gel and conditioner. They also sell the hair colour that I prefer.
In Aldi this week you can buy shower gel for 33p, face wipes for 89p, permanent hair colour for £2.39, hairspray for 79p, sanitary towels for 69p for 14 and an impressive looking beauty serum for £3.99, among other bargain beauty buys.
Check out the supermarkets
I look out for bargains in the supermarkets for makeup. The foundation I have now is really nice and was on offer for £6.99. I know people who will spend £35 on a small pot of this stuff! Very recently I also discovered the MUA range in Superdrug which is incredibly cheap. £1 for a lipstick and £2 for a cream blusher! That will do me!
My daughter raves about the budget beauty bargains at Cosmetics Fairy and they do seem worth investigating.
Fragrance – the prices! I am sure you shouldn’t need to sell a kidney to smell nice! I go for the Body Shop range fairly often. Another good ploy is to buy the gift sets of fragrance and body lotion after Christmas. You can usually find them massively reduced. Perfume either smells good or it doesn’t. Who cares if Britney’s name is on the bottle?
You might think I am tighter than the proverbial bit of the duck’s anatomy. But if you need to watch the pennies you can save money with a budget beauty approach. Start at Aldi. You may be surprised at what you will find!
I too have dry skin and used to buy moisturisers – nothing terribly expensive although I did go through a phase of using Dr Hauschka. Can’t afford them now but I am very fussy about smell and I do LOVE the smell of their products – they are so uplifting. I’ve used just water on my face for washing for donkey’s years, and for the last 5 or so have used just sweet almond oil as a moisturiser – I thought it might not be enough for my dry skin but it is. I put a few drops on damp cotton wool and wipe it over – that seems to be the most economical and easy way to apply it. I do the same with my legs too (when they are on view!) instead of using body lotion. It is just about the cheapest and of course most natural, way of moisurising. A bottle of about 250 ml lasts me a year or so! If you want to add fragrance you can just add a few drops of whatever essential oil you like the smell of.
I like that – I will try it
Although I love perfume and make up, I’d still class myself as low maintenance. Like you I’ve tried all brands from quite expensive stuff like Clarins, Liz Earle , etc but I can’t seem to find a cleanser that my skin is happy with. I’ve stuck with a Boots botanics foaming cleanser for a while and it’s cheap too and it’s suiting me so far. I use an exfoliator from Aldi which is very good. I also use Aldi face wipes when I’m too tired to cleanse properly. I’ve always done my own pedicures/manicures and have never even had a facial. On holiday recently I forgot to pack my tweezers so went a week with no eyebrow plucking. I’ve decided to just pluck a few strays now and they’ve grown back quickly but to help them I bought a brown brow pencil from the MUA brand in Superdrug for £1 yesterday and it’s very good. I was surprised at the prices when just the same pencil from another well know brand would have been £4!! I don’t colour my hair as I’ve learned the hard way that it’s costly keeping up the colouring. I’ve not had a professional cut for 9 months now – been trimming my fringe myself. I’ve now grown our some shorter layers and before Xmas will treat myself and am aiming for a simple blunt cut Bob as for me this style is the easiest to maintain and suits my fine hair. Most of my perfume has been given to me as presents – I love perfume and wear it every day even around the house. I think it’s worth investing in perfume as opposed to EDT as the fragrance lasts longer and I find you don’t need as much.
I am with you all on the cheaper products. Oh how I wish we could get Ponds here in France but failing that I love Nivea. I tend to go barefoot most of the time but my sister told me about a “recipe” she had seen on Facebook for pedicures and it really works. Take 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups mouthwash and 4 cups hot water and soak your feet for 20 minutes (and yes we have all heard the jokes about your feet smelling better than your breath). This mixture works wonders for me, and I guess the mouthwash has that tingle that actually relaxes your feet. I do this every week and it is fantastic. Not a hint of hard skin. I do of course do all the pumicing etc afterwards but that only takes about 10 minutes and I have really relaxed, presentable feet afterwards. Give it a try. It’s great. Anna
Here in Adelaide we don’t have an Aldi store yet, but several are set to open next year. I’m looking forward to the bargains that every one talks about. Do you know if the Lacura range is cruelty free?
I think this may be the first time I’ve commented but just want to say I love reading your blog.
Dianne
Diane – I feel bad for not having asked that question! I found this which looks encouraging: https://www.facebook.com/notes/evolve-campaigns/animal-testing-and-cruelty-free-living-companies-and-products-to-support-and-avo/471929638890