I'm addicted to overpriced skin care

I've cut back, but my skin is my favorite vanity, and it's hard to get over the fear that something terrible will happen if I don't waste time and money on it.

Anybody have advice on kicking the habit?

They cost $13.99 at drugstore.com and they're fantastic products. You can buy the things separately, but the kits are a better value if you end up liking everythig that comes in them.

part of my problem is that i use too many products. I'd like to keep it simple.

Without paying full price for something you're not sure you'll like. I love these products. And they don't have those nasty artificial fragrances in them, just natural botanicals. Very yummy. :9

like you i used to LOVE skin care products -- still do.

when i had to go through chemo therapy -- my nurse who was in charge of putting together my chemo supplies for home included aveeno in the kit.

she said chemo is tough on the skin and that i might like this stuff -- boy did i ever.

and i've stuck with it ever since.

i'm a believer now in oatmeal based skincare products.

I use Rodan & Fields. If it works, I use it. Nothing else has ever worked for me outside of dermotologist prescribed products and they're much more expensive, especially if you count the co-pay for the office visit. ;-)

it's just that i'm on such a tight budget, i feel silly splurging on something that most people can get away with saving on

when I was employed and could afford it. Now, I love Oil of Olay Regenerist, and its MUCH less expensive, and does a great job!

quite an investment, believe me! And I loved how the products felt going on, and how my skin felt afterwards. I just cannot afford that line anymore. I wish I could, and if I had the disposable money, I would probably still be using them. However, I don't have the money, and have had to search for something that works well for me. Oil of Olay Regenerist seems to fit the bill. They even have an eye cream that feels great. Its not as oily as the La Mer, which is a good thing. I can wear it under day makeup. I use the Regenerist moisturizer that has a sunscreen in it, which La Mer did not have. So that's better anyway. Their face wash is great too. I use the Regenerist Perfecting Serum, and love how that makes my skin feel. Its a good line and a good value.

I will also let you know that (try and follow the relatives here) my sister-in-law's aunt is the one who has developed this line for Olay. It is owned by Chanel and has a lot of the same formulations, but at a much less expensive price. She has really championed Olay including a lot of the Chanel formulations. So I feel I'm getting good value!

ps. I use the whole Olay Regenerist line and Nivea Astringent-free Toner.. everyone has always complimented me on how beautiful my skin looks, when I was using the La Mer, and when I'm now economizing on the Olay. So something must be working!

to Olay when I realized that it's all pretty much the same stuff. My skin cleared up completely... It doesn't get any better than Olay.

i'm hesitant to try it again

When I read the OP... I thought the Oil of Olay stuff *was* the overpriced stuff!

:rofl:

Oh well... guess I don't have a problem! (yet)

I'm hooked on Eminence organic skin care from Hungary. I have really difficult, sensitive skin that is prone to break-outs and I've tried all kinds of treatments. This is the best thing for me, along with dietary changes. I just wish the stuff wasn't so pricey. :(

I like that I'm still mistaken for a college kid at age 40, so it's tough to give it up. :shrug:

that overpriced skin stuff isn't really overpriced if you like the results. Maybe I should stop my whining and just enjoy it.

of different items searching for magic in a bottle. My dermatologist says that only a few products really deliver, and Cellex-C is one of them-so I just stick with that.

I also read somewhere that people who had face lifts lived on average five years longer than the rest of the population. The mind/body connection is a powerful thing, and it seems like if you look younger, then you'll actually feel younger.

I feel no differently than I did at 24 :shrug:

results with the Loreal line...Revitalift. I used to buy into my own field thinking that the more I spent the better off my skin was. I've now been using Loreal for over a year and even MrG notices the difference, and he rarely notes that stuff. I say, do what you feel best doing. :hi:

It feels so good and smells so good.

But I'll buy it at the Cosmetic Store which is the Estee Lauder Outlet stores.

My skin can't live without it anymore.

......to first take those high products you buy to your local discount department store (Target, Walmart, KMart, etc) and start comparing ingredients on store brand products. You will be absolutely shocked at how much you can save simply by buying store brand products.

I have extremely dry skin and so I could buy "Cetaphil", which is a very gentle skin cleanser. Instead, I buy the store brand (Walgreen's or Walmart brands) of the same product and save $3 to $5 each time. I think "Cetaphil" also makes a cleanser for oily skin.

I also buy the store brands of "Cetaphil" moisturizing skin cream or I buy "Ponds" dry skin cream. If you have oily skin this same process will work just as well.

A tip here, slap on the store brand moisturizing cream (that has the same ingredients as name brand) and leave it on as long as you possibly can. Hopefully you can arrange to leave the cream on for a half-hour or more and then go back and wipe the excess off with a tissue.

Last tip, there is a book Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 6th Edition by Paula Begoun, There is also a book by the same author having to do with shampoos and skin creams - just do a google for all her books. Of course she sells her own cosmetics but you don't have to buy into that. Just follow her suggestions.

i try to do the ingredient thing, i don't use minera l oil on my skin, and that creates problems in finding affordable brands. i'll look at those books

Blue, not uber Red and hopelessly corrupt like Wal-mart.

that I have used are Eucerin and Cetaphil.

I've polled my friends with the best looking skin over the years and find agreements with many that these lines are affordable and seem to be as good as the expensive lines, especially for face wash and toner.

Moisturizer is very personal it seems.

Some still stick with expensive, some have looked for alternatives.
Everyone over the years is fed up with exorbitant pricing and 'shatter-sure' packaging.

A tip from a cosmetic salesperson years ago was that the products for men are the same as for women.
The plastic 'shatter-proof' packaging is usually the only difference.
They know that men wont rebuy once they see the absurdity of packaging if it breaks.

The only other observation of my great skin and great aging friends is that they all work from the inside out too.
Vitamin supplements and healthy eating and lifestyle.
Who knew!

i do the healthy lifestyle thing (more or less). and I'm actually pretty low maintainance with face wash and I don't use toner. It's moisturizers (and occasionly exfoliants) that get me. I'll look into men's stuff.

just wondering...

... I used to buy extremely pricey stuff, and finally just got sick of it and pissed off when prices of single jars soared above $100. I hate elitist crap. A friend of mine who is a dermatologist gave me samples of Ponds, Eucerin and Cetaphil, and I bought Nivea just as a test item one day (they had bundled eye cream together with a purchase of moisturizer).

They're all excellent. I also try to shop at the local health food stores, b/c I don't like using items that test on animals... and most of the ones I mentioned above do. Kiss My Face is actually nice stuff, and it smells good, and is environmentally friendly. So is Shi Kai. And so is Burt's Bees, but I don't really like their stuff too much.

so i shant.


:p

pretty please?

yesterday i went in to the beauty supply where i do buy my shampoo--and bought a hand cream ... which i thought would be a couple of dollars. i nearly fainted when i got home and saw the price on the sticker on the bottle: $9.00 !!!!! THE girl at the store had given me a $6.00 discount on my purchase and that is why i did not notice the price at the counter when i paid for my junk.

:blush:

Not too bad though... my skin cleanser was only $6... the moisturizers, though... :(

philosophy has a great product line at a great cost. I am addicted to the sonage line, and "hope esthetic's" out of woodland hills ,ca.

perhaps a part time job in a salon, or a department store.

peace!

That's all I use and I'll be 50 this year. I don't know about the rest of my body, but my face can pass for "30" something easily, and with no makeup either.
I'm living proof that money doesn't buy good skin.

Whatever is going to happen, is going to happen anyway and the only way to put your skin back in place (when it starts to go south) is plastic surgery. Forget the expensive stuff and relax. Enjoy who you ARE, not what you look like - because no matter what you do, you're going to get old and it's going to show one way or another, just like it will with the rest of us. :)

i hope that by the time I actually age, I'll really be older and more mature. but your advice is helpful

have you heard of the asprin mask? Cheapest great skin solution known to man.
Talk to me; lady; I just discovered LUSH.

I so did not understand your post. please explain?

http://www.makeupalley.com/

This is the best site to get REAL reviews and find out what is REALLY working for women across the country/globe. Half the ppl I meet on my other makeup/skin/girly related boards reference this one for help. Almost any beauty product in any range has been reviewed and widely discussed here. You will spend HOURS getting skin and hair tips here. The asprin mask is the holy grail since it seems to work for almost EVERYONE that tries it. Also tells you how to make a toner with it. If you are into skincare at all you will love this place. I also recommend http://www.icompact.com/
and
http://www.makeuptalk.com/

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I have not tried Creme De La Mer yet; but it seems to be affordable in small amounts on ebay;so I'm going to soon. My next thing is the Bare Minerals Starter Kit.NOTHING but raves....

but quit. I like St Ives. The face wash that takes off eye makeup, the apricot scrub, and the oil-free moisturizer that hubby got for a Xmas stocking stuffer by mistake. Mix a small bit with whatever foundation I'm using to make it go on my overly dry skin smoother (thanks TX panhandle).

I really like that and use it 2x/week. I use a body butter at night and Banana Boat Faces sun screen in the daytime. I like the Mary Kay eye cream for dark circles under my eyes too. I use that about every night. My niece sells Mary Kay so that's why I get it.

For everyday washing, I use glycerine soap. I get it at the craft store. I can buy a 2 lb block of it for about 9 dollars and have enough soap for a year and have some to give away too. They have fragrances and colors you can put in it. All you have to do is have a mold and something to microwave it in so it will pour into the mold.

I still am regularly carded for 18 and am 28. I think that it helps and has improved my skin. I have not used the toner. I don't know if that sort of thing really is healthy for a person my age. I do use the face wash, eye moisturer, and face moisturer though. I try to be conservative with it so that I don't go through it too fast since it is expensive.
For the rest of me, I use general body wash and Sundog hemp oil lotion.
There might be cheaper stuff out there that works. I do know though that the hemp oil lotion on my face didn't work as well as the stuff I am using. The Estee Lauder products that my mother-in-law gave me didn't work as well either.