How To Save Money On Your Skincare Routine
How To Save Money On Your Skincare Routine
The skincare world is nuanced.
There isn’t always a one size fits all, especially when it comes to budgets. The best part? There are a lot of strategic ways to save money but still have a quality routine with products that are going to work. All though often this is the case because high tech and sustainable ingredients/formulas are expensive to make, expensive doesn’t always mean the best and cheap doesn’t always mean terrible (confusing.. I know). There are SO many options to work with these days, and lucky for us in New Zealand a lot of these amazing, affordable American and French brands are in stock and readily available for us to purchase from our local pharmacy.
So my biggest advice would be to put your money in the middle, and save on your book ends (I learnt this from the queen of skincare Caroline Hirons. Book ends include your cleanser and your moisturiser (because they are the start and the end of your routine) and then the idea is to put your money in the middle for things like essence, exfoliants, serums & oils. You should invest in things like serums because they are the treatment phase of your skincare routine and are going to be working the hardest to help you achieve your skincare goals, whether that be sensitivity, dryness, acne, excess oil, blackheads, scarring, pigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles or texture. Your skin concern is where you want to see change. So that is where you should be spending your money! Simple.
The great part is that you can then save on the essential, yet basic parts of your routine that don’t need to be high tech and fancy. A good cleanser just needs to remove makeup and rid your skin of excess grime and a good moisturiser’s main job is to seal all of the goodness in and protect your skin from the outside environmental stressors. These do not need to be expensive. There are also a couple of common misconceptions, one being that you need a fancy moisturiser to treat skin concerns, but regardless of your budget it’s always best to leave it up to your serum to do the work for you, you just need a basic moisturiser that is going to sit on top. Another misconception is that you need a seperate day and night cream which honestly is just a marketing ploy to get you buying more than one moisturiser. You can absolutely use the same moisturiser in the morning and evening as long as it doesn’t have any SPF in it, it’s actually better to use a separate SPF on top in the mornings, anyway! It’s a win/win.
By all means, you are free to spend a little extra on book ends if you love the products and they make you happy (I love a bit of luxury in every part of my skin routine) but for those who’s budget doesn’t allow for that, this is the most efficient way to enjoy a great routine that is not only better for the bank account, but also will actually work!
Affordable Cleansers That Are Amazing & Will Do The Job
The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser — morning cleanse or second cleanse in your evening double cleanse
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter — makeup remover, first step in your evening double cleanse
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gelee Milk Cleanser — morning cleanse or second cleanse in your evening double cleanse
Eau Thermale Avene Tolerance Extreme Cleansing Lotion — amazing for sensitive or dry skin, use as morning cleanser or second cleanse in the evening
La Roche Posay Effaclar H Cleansing Cream — morning cleanse or second cleanse in your evening double cleanse
La Roche Posay Toleriane Face Dermo Cleanser — if oilier or acne prone this could work as your morning cleanser, first cleanse makeup remover and second cleanse face cleanser
Affordable Moisturisers That Are Amazing & Will Do The Job
The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA — one of my favourite moisturisers of all time and it will suit pretty much all skin types as it’s 100% fragrance and essential oil free
Me Today Women’s Daily Moisturiser — luxury experience at an affordable price point, plus if supporting local NZ business is important to you, this product is a good one to go for
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel Cream — Probably the best skincare line you can get from the supermarket, I love these products and this moisturiser in particular would be amazing for anyone with super dry skin, however the texture of it would make it perfect for any skin type in the summer months
The Inkey List Snow Mushroom Moisturiser — Brilliant for sensitive/acne skin types
