This post has come about with a conversation with F. She works although she is still at home studying for A Levels but we got onto the subject of how she would be able to afford a basic beauty regime if she was on pocket money only. Now we have given our children £30 a month pocket money (the youngest still gets it) and it got me wondering - would it be possible for a young adult to start a good regime on a tight budget, regardless of their skin type.
I have taken into account that not every young lady would get £30, and also have taken into account that any money they have would have to be spent on the hight street, not online. So, without further ado - I think I have cracked it. How to start taking care of your skin for under £20. I decided that the following would be mandatory:-
Day cream
Night cream
Cleanser, toner and a scrub,
Body butter/lotion
Lip balm.
Trying to go for the best value for money and the best quality posed quite a hurdle, but I think I have got it.
I know there are lots of spree versus steal blogs and this isn't one of those. I have chosen high street shops (Boots and Superdrug) and supermarkets (Asda and Tesco) for the best I can find for the following 4 skin types:-
Normal
Dry/sensitive
Combination
All I can say is I am more than grateful for Pinterest as I would have really lost where I was at about 5 minutes into this little post!
So, without further ado - here are my picks for a teenage girl on a budget. First up, we have the following
Normal Skin
Day cream - I have cheated a little on this one as if you are lucky enough to have normal skin, you can over moisturise it. Fortunately, Johnsons have come up with this fantastic cream which will do both. Coming in at £4.07 for 50ml, it is definitely a steal. Saying that, Superdrug do a fantastic little night cream for £2.99 for 100ml if you want that extra moisurisation at night.
Cleanser - Boots came up trumps with a Garnier cleanser for £3.15 for 200ml. Looks great, really decent amount, great write up so I don't think we will be going wrong here.
Toner - Again, Boots have come through with another Garnier product, this time an invigorating toner. £3.15 again and 200ml which will last a long time.
Scrub - Back to Superdrug for their Vitamin E face scrub. £2.99 for 100ml will go a long way for something that you aren't going to use every day.
Body Butter - Asda came up trumps with this gorgeous tub at £3.00 for 200 ml. Again, a little is going to go a very long way so sounds like a really good bet.
Lip balm - Back to Superdrug for their best selling lip therapy little blue tin which is 99p for 20g of balm and comes in a gorgeous little tin that will slip into a pocket really easily. With all the sun we have been having my lips have been getting really dry, so I have been reaching for the balm far more than I normally would - giving my lips a quick brush with a babies toothbrush beforehand to get a lovely smooth result.
So, they are my budget picks for normal skin and the whole lot comes in at a (rather pleasant and not too painful on the purse) £20.34 (and that includes the night cream). Whatever your pocket money or allowance, in a month or so you could save up for this to give you a great start looking after your skin. The sooner you start, the better it is going to look in years to come.
The products are going to run out at different times so the £20.34 would just be the primary outlay - then it would just be topping up or finding your own budget brands that will work for you.
Dry/Sensitive Skin
Day Cream - We are off to Boots for their Simply Sensitive Day Moisturiser with SPF 15 which at £1.39 for 125ml would be rude to pass up. Sensitive and hydrating for the skin, an absolute must have.
Night Cream - Staying at Boots with their Simply Sensitive Night Moisturiser. It is a little more expensive at £1.89 for 50ml, but I don't know about you - I always end up with more night moisturiser left over than day even if I start the pots off on the same day. A great buy for dry and sensitive skin.
Cleanser - Off to Superdrug for our cleanser - their Simply Pure Calming Cleanser at £2.59 for 200ml is fantastic value for money whilst giving your sensitive skin that it needs along with good hydration.
Toner - Staying at Superdrug, their Simply Pure Refreshing Toner is the same price as the cleanser, £2.59 for 200ml. Absolutely great for the dryness as it paraben free.
Scrub - We are not going to have to go very far for this too, as Superdrug stock St Ives, a range that I have used since my teens myself. Their Apricot Gentle Scrub has been around for at least 20 years to my knowledge and isn't going to go very far soon. Superb value for money too at £3.00 for 150ml.
Body Butter - Off to Asda now for their N-Spa Raspberry Rich Body Butter which at £3.00 for 200ml is fantastic value for money. Raspberry is such a great fruit for dry and sensitive skin so you won't go wrong with this.
Lip Balm - Since we are at Asda we are going to stay there as this is where I can find the following product at the best price. Nivea's original lip butter has been around for ages now and is such a great product for dry and sensitive lips. At £1.99 for 16.7g it isn't the cheapest, but it is something that is well worth not scrimping on.
Ok, so - my budget picks for dry and sensitive skin coming in at £13.45 which has actually really surprised me. Normally if you have anything other than "normal" skin you can end up paying through the nose for it but it seems not!
Ok, the last skin type and I have to admit, the most challenging as the products are SO expensive.....
Combination Skin
Day Cream - Off to Boots, to start our shopping for this one. Their shine control day moisturiser is an absolutely great shine control moisturiser for blemish prone and oily skin. At the cost of £3.59 for 75ml it is pricey, but well worth it.
Night Cream - Staying at Boots, they have a great tea tree and witch hazel night gel which at £2.99 for 75ml is again expensive, but is the cheapest and best rated I could find on the high street and in the supermarkets. If your skin isn't in the best shape, now is the time to start investing in it for sure.
Cleanser - Off to Asda for this one - for their blemish fighting ice cleanser by Biore. At £3.00 for 200ml, I think we are starting to make inroads into making our money go a bit further. This has been reviewed so many times in the beauty press that I have lost count.
Toner - Staying at Asda, we have Neutrogena's Visibly Clear toner. At £3.50 for 200ml the money is starting to go further again. Neutrogena's products are fantastic and a little will go a long way.
Scrub - Back to Superdrug for St Ives Blemish Control Scrub. A great product that saw me through my years of terrible skin (and I bet it has improved vastly since then.). £3.00 for 150ml will go a very long way as it is a product you won't want to be using daily.
Body Butter - For our body butter, we are going back to Asda and to their N-Spa range, this time for their coconut body butter. Even if you have combination skin, there is no need for it to feel neglected at all. If you have skin that isn't Caucasian you can find that with both combination and dry skin you can get an almost ashy look (like I do) and this body butter is great for it. I haven't been able to find the one I use personally online, and this defeats the idea of the post but if you can get hold of something called Bottle o'butter, that is great for ashy skin too. The N-Spa coconut body butter comes in at £3.00 for 200ml, so great value for money.
Lip Balm - Don't get whiplash but we are back to Superdrug for this one - for their Little Pink Tin with SPF 15. 99p for 20g and comes in a gorgeous little tub too. Sometimes with combination skin you can spend so long getting your skin right, your lips can get forgotten. Just as I mentioned before, a quick brush with a babies toothbrush and a slick of this and your lips will be feeling great.
So our combination skin high street budget range comes in at £20.07. Not off the chart expensive, but I think the high street could do better, and that goes for all of them.
Now, I am no professional where it comes to skin care. I have had a LOT of help from my daughter's friends putting this list together. Each of the items I have chosen I have done with help from them, with price and amount of product pitched against how well it works. There have been some cheaper items but they have been a waste of money.
I genuinely hope that this is of some use to anyone out there trying to start a good regime to take care of their skin, and would love to hear back from anyone with better items or ideas.
These products are all available on the high street or in supermarkets - they can be bought without a debit card and an online account. I am going to do another post soon with items that are available online only in case you have an older sibling or parent that will help you start your skincare regime a bit cheaper. I will be taking note of shipping costs too, so will be looking for the very best I can find.
Hope you enjoyed this little post, I enjoyed asking my daughter's friends for their help and getting lots of ideas for it.
If you are interested, (and until I can code my blogger page!) you can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Facebook.
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