While I’ve been posting about some of my Secrets to Perfect Skin, some of you have asked me to come up with product alternatives that are more suited to a tight budget but still do a great job. This isn’t always an easy ask as there is just so much on the market that is ‘cheap’; but effective and inexpensive don’t always go hand in hand. So I’ve been doing a bit of research, using myself as a guinea pig and have found a few simple solutions that are both affordable and give amazing results.
First up the skin care system. While I’ve been using Sothy’s for a number of years now, it isn’t always an affordable option depending on what else I’ve been doing with my credit card that month. (Damn you Etsy!) One of the things I knew was that finding something that had quality ingredients for a smallish price was not going to be easy. So I took my list of nasty’s and no no’s shopping with me, and spent ages pouring over packaging to make sure that I could narrow the list before subjecting my skin to any distress.
The long and short of all this is a range that gets a tick in every box. The Trilogy range is a New Zealand based company that uses all natural ingredients and actually has an easily accessible and understandable list of ingredients available on each product. Not hidden away, but even searchable in alphabetical order on their website which impressed me. First up I had been using their handcream which gave me near miracle results. Smelt great, went in well and had a very soothing, therapeutic effect. So after reading what was and wasn’t in their products, I decided to give it a trial run while I was on my last trip away. They happened to have a good special at the time on their travel minis which meant that I could get the whole range that I needed at a fraction of the cost – perfect!
.
The results I got from these products was fantastic. I’ve been suffering from regular hormonal breakouts along my jaw line which no amount of regular facials was helping. I’d been steaming, cleansing, masking all the usual, but I couldn’t seem to improve it very much. After a week of using the full system, (cleanser, toner, moisturiser) the bumpy bits were gone. I should also tell you that while I was testing this skin care I was getting about 4 hours of sleep a night, partying to the wee hours and working all day; so it had a heck of a lot to cope with!
From the research I’ve done on their website, it also appears that none of their products contain parabens either, which is a bonus as I know a number of readers are severely allergic to these too. The price for each full sized bottle is around the $38 mark, but they also have regular specials. I picked up the whole system at the Myer stock take sales just this last week. I think my favorite product has to be the spritzing facial toner as it has the most divine scent and is so refreshing. It know it is only psychological, but somehow the spritzing action makes me feel cleaner.
.
The next thing I wanted to address was the whole gentle exfoliation thing I’d been asked about. Given that every-one’s skin is different and exfoliation is usually something recommended as a weekly activity only, it is hard to give specifically general advice (see what I mean?). However, removing all traces of makeup with a washcloth is one way of tackling the daily exfoliation challenge. It isn’t about a scrub, but just about making sure there is no crap left on your skin and increasing the blood flow to the surface. And yes, you can use a standard flannel washcloth but I wanted to find something a little bit different that would only be used by me and not end up becoming part of the morning ‘wheat-bix off face removal’ system. (Anyone with kids knows what I’m talking about here). Here is the super cool and very cute tool I found for just such a task.
.
This is a Jelly Cleansing Puff. Found at a Korean beauty store, I’m sure my Asian based readers will have seen these before, but they certainly aren’t common here in Australia. But they are fantastic! The texture is actually like squishy, wet but firm jelly, and they can be washed and squeezed out as you go. It is an almost sponge like texture, but has enough texture to help remove any remaining makeup and if you rub gently on the skin, helps to increase the blood flow without any rough edges or scrubbing. Maybe these are just another gimmick, but they are fun to use and so far after a week of using it, I have seen an improvement to the clarity of my skin. Have any of you used these before? Do you know anything about them?
The other thing that is huge in Asia right now, but hasn’t made it to mainstream here in Australia, is BB Cream – Blemish Balm Cream. Basically it is a tinted moisturiser with an SPF, but has much more coverage than any other tinted moisturiser I’ve found to date. The reason I started using this is that during winter, my skin becomes even paler and I often find that my foundation is just too dark. Even the palest porcelain colours still just don’t work. But this BB Cream from The Face Shop is EXACTLY the right shade for my skin and gives me amazing coverage! I use it over my regular daily moisturiser like a foundation, then set it with a clear, loose translucent powder. It is more dewy than the mineral foundation I’m used to, but can be powdered to a matt finish. I can’t find this exact cream on their website, but it is in store and comes in at about $52 for the tube. I’ve been using it solidly for about the last 3 months and haven’t finished it yet.
.
Of course, every time I shop at The Face Shop I pick up a few other nick nacks to try out and this time I picked up their 3/4 lashes to try. These have fast become my new everyday favorite lashes with a good length, spread and thickness. They also have a decent width base to apply the glue to. They are easy to clean and remove the glue from to use over and over again, in fact I’m still on the same pair after five weeks. Which at approximately $4 a pair makes these crackingly good value!
.
So there you go my friends, affordable, effective alternatives for creating a simply beautiful face!
Fantastic post!!
The Trilogy brand sounds like just what I’m looking for, so will keep an eye out for the Myer sales
Tia: Do, while they are still on, and get a bargain.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Candice DeVille, Melita Stewart. Melita Stewart said: RT @SuperKawaiiMama: Great Value Skincare Finds! http://bit.ly/dqJJXA SKM used and reviewed.
[...]
I love Trilogy too! Rosehip oil in general has served my skin extremely well through harsh performance makeup needs!
And on my next trip through Singapore I am totally going to pick up a jelly puff – any tips on where to purchase? Thanks for another totally skincare obsessed post. I love them!
Sharon: I got mine from City Homewares on Lonsdale street in Melbourne.
That puff looks really cool
Akin and Alchemy and also really good and along the same lines as Trilogy though a little cheaper…
For a little while i was getting a full sized set of Akin cleanser, toner and moisturiser for $50! And its Aussie made and owned, and all natural. Their hair products are great too!
Could you tell me if you can purchase products from The Face Shop online?
Thanks for the great tips!
Kirsty: Yes, you can buy from Face Shop online, but they don’t have all the same things as in store. The other bonus about shopping in store is that they are always fantastic at giving out samples, which is how I found the BB cream in the first place and was able to try it our properly without having to make a trial purchase and getting it wrong.
Yes the Face Shop is wonderful. The free samples are greatly appreciated and not enough beauty counters give out samples anymore which is sad. They do the cutest little apple and lemon handcreams in jars shaped like the fruit itself. I couldn’t resist and have one of each!
Was the jelly puff from the face shop too?
Paula: I have the apple hand cream cause the container was too cute to resist! Although I didn’t get the puff from The Face Shop, if I remember rightly, they do stock them too.
Whoops, sorry! Just saw you’d answered above about where you got the puff
I love the Asian beauty shops but get totally sucked and end up believing I need stuff like face whitener (which I totally don’t). I will keep an eye out for the jelly sponge though.
My favourite cheap as exfoliatant is oatmeal mixed to a paste with water. It works a treat and costs almost nothing.
Kathryn: Perhaps we get sucked into it because they have things we haven’t seen before and it appeals to that elemental need we seem to have for “All new and improved”! Either that or beacuse the packaging is more entertaining. I know I have bought several things on packaging alone and don’t actual care whether they work or end up using them!
I’ve been using Trilogy products for a few years now. I love the rose hip oil. A few drops on my hands .. wet my face & rub in. I wake up in the morning with amazing feeling skin. At the moment I am using NutriMin C. It is also really good.
Totally my kind of post! I love the Face Shop falsies! I reused mine about 5 times now, and they still look good as new
*splutters*
$52? That’s such a ripoff, sigh Aussie why!? That’s double the price I paid for mine when I got it back home =/
I personally didn’t find Face Shop’s BB cream to be that effective. But they do have a few different ones so I supposed mine just isn’t that great.. Right now I’m using Skin79′s BB cream and plan to try a few others as well including Etude House if only for the so so cute packaging! MAC has actually started their own BB cream as well but sadly only found in DFS and travel stores, and when I went through Changi, I was in the wrong terminal for the MAC counter. Boo.
The girls who were selling BB cream in all the different stores all said this as well – that BB cream adjusts to your skintone. I still don’t know how true that is, but seeing as all the different BB creams seem to match my skin tone….. lol. And I’m a fair bit darker than your usual asian!
I have a question for you: my lovely daughter is 8 years old and already starting to break out and have blackheads (we’re early developers in our family!). We’ve been treating breakouts with tea tree oil or a basic benzoyle peroxide cream, but the blackheads are more difficult. Can you recommend a product or an at-home facial situation that can help get rid of, or extract, them? I don’t want to damage her young skin, but I want to clear up the blackheads, especially, before they get “ingrained,” as it were. Thanks!
[...] to trim them, which upped the convenient/everyday factor of them. Candice at Super Kawaii Mama also liked these lashes, and got a lot of wear out of them. Cheap AND durable – definite [...]
c’est tellement jolie t tellement difficile à poser.
Lilou
the natural jelly cleansing puff can be bought at The Etude House…it is so cute, squishy but not disgusting…i love to squeeze mine…and it is very refreshing to the face…addicting…it is advised to replace it every 3 months…so far ive been using it for almost a week now, and i can see that it is effective, my face is glowing and soft, even my bf told me i look refreshed after using it…highly recommended
i am thinking of getting another one for my body, not sure if it is ok though, need to ask Etude House SA’s
[...] More Great Value Skincare … some excellent, affordable skin care … should also tell you that while I was testing this skin care I was getting … these crackingly good value!. So there you go my friends, affordable … [...]