Enough is Enough

[iamasmall]

so would we all agee we might have been conned over the years, i tell you what, if i go into a L'occitane shop i never buy anything because i am not impressed enough by it in real life to part with cash for it, but have in the past had no problem clicking on go to checkout on qvc, further i have never ever bought L'occitane on qvc unless i have been watching a presentation.

lol i sound like a real mug

btw i used to love the M&S range wild iris and green fern (1970's) is it still made? we only have a teeny Marks in my town

 

[kitten_with_claws]

Trouble is that I know I can speak for myself that in the past I have been taken in by the glow that I have got from buying something new and having posh swishy bags to walk home with. I think for me it had got to the point when the pleasure was in the buying and not in the purchase itself.

So true! (Been there, done that, got the ruddy t-shirt!) Can be even worse buying online as the waiting for it to arrive only serves to extend the 'buzz'!
I now only buy things I truly want & preferably need! (Or will need at some point in the not too distant future! lol)

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

the problem with the high street stuff is that it makes me and my mum seriously itchy

 

[Elise]

I downgraded from Elemis Milk Bath (£35 a bottle - gulp!) to Molton Brown Yuan Zhi (£16ish), then to Champneys version of the milk bath (circa a tenner), and finally to 'Dove Cream Bath - about £2.50.

The Dove Bath is as moisturising as the Elemis stuff (in fact, probably more moisturising) and around 1/12 the price!!

I have also stopped using my Dior anti-ager (£80!!) as I could only afford it about once a year, and now use the Elemis Maximum Moisture day cream, which I usually get on Ebay, and only pay about 2/3 retail.

I also buy the economy/essentials biscuits from Tesco and Sainsburys - they taste EXACTLY the same as the posh ones.

(I do still wear my Chanel Coromandel perfume though - can't be completely without luxuries!). :1:

 

[iamasmall]

Elise, sorry if i am dim, but what is chanel coromandel perfume, i have never seen it

 

[merryone]

I always use Imperial leather bath products...loads of lovely smells, dirt cheap, and soap free...I love the Japanese spa one..it smells lovely!

 

[kitten_with_claws]

I have to say, having a bath is one of the highlights of my day, I really look forward to it & have convinced myself I always feel better afterwards!
I do therefore love smellies to go in it & the Elemis bath soaks are one of my real 'luxuries'! I don't use them all the time but alternate with cheaper Next or Sanctuary items, though the smell never lingers as long with these!

I mainly use soaps I get from eBay, (in some lovely fragrances!) or again, Next, no.7 or Sanctuary body washes for the most part, anything that smells nice really! I wouldn't fork out for Philosophy or l'Occitane shower gels on a regular basis, just too expensive!

 

[norbitonite]

My absolute fave shower cream is SBC collagen, but times are tough at the moment and I've been very impressed by Radox Replenish. It smells yum lathers well and leaves my skin feeling moisturised.

 

[Rudolf]

I get the itchies with so many body products that LE and L'Occitane (some not all) are luxuries that I give other things up for. Same for my scalp - that's why I use Ojon. I used to spend a fortune swapping from one shampoo range to another. At least I don't waste any now.

Having said that, I am going to try not to watch certain programmes on QVC because I end up buying far too much stuff and then giving to people as presents. Nice, but I'd never normally spend so much on gifts.

 

[SUPERCOOLWILLOW]

My absolute fave shower cream is SBC collagen, but times are tough at the moment and I've been very impressed by Radox Replenish. It smells yum lathers well and leaves my skin feeling moisturised.

that reminds me i have one for sale lol

I get the itchies with so many body products that LE and L'Occitane (some not all) are luxuries that I give other things up for.

Snuffles i agree most of the high street ones make me and my mums skin itchy as well and i`d gladly give up other things to have them not make my skin itch so much

 

[Jenni1]

Good for you. I've been thinking of going back to the high Street myself.

 

[norbitonite]

Has anybody tried the Sanctuary pro collagen products? How do they compare to Elemis?

I notice on the Sanctuary website that they also do a cleanser that sounds very like LE C&P, but at £9.99 for 150 mls.

 

[Elise]

Elise, sorry if i am dim, but what is chanel coromandel perfume, i have never seen it

Chanel bought out a load of new scents called 'Les Exclusifs' which are only available as EDT and pure perfume - no body products. Not sure if they are 'old' scents ressurected, or brand new ones?

'Coromandel' is my favourite - very woody, with pine, patchouli, frankincense, amber and vanilla. I have seen reviews describing it as 'powdered white chocolate' and 'oriental meets myrhh'. I love it!

The only other one I can remember from the range is 'Bel Respiro', which is absolutely vile.

They all come in ginormous 200ml bottles and plain boxes (ie no name on the packaging). You can't get them in Boots or other places that usually sell Chanel - but some of the big dept stores (like Selfridges) have them.

 

[piper4]

I have been using Simple bath products and find them really great, I bought a philosphy set a few months ago and everything apart from the lip gel irritated me and the face cream smelt really awful.
My daughter bought a L'occitane set which was on easy pay (I'm going back a while) and we split it between us, but other than that I buy my stuff on the High Street.
Sainsburys have half price Dove wash products at the mo, just before Christmas they had a lot of the Orignal source bath stuff for a £1 or so, I made up gift bags with a few of the items in each which was really good value, my son loves there Pomegrante & fig skin food, Sainsburys seem to be keeping up with their pricecuts on bath stuff etc., I find Boots don't seem to be so competitive these days.

piper

 

[Elise]

Can't believe no-one has mentioned Fenjal!

 

[Mikado]

I think I remeber people talking about an ASDA skincare range that was like LE and a bodycare range like Philosophy. Are they any good?

 

[LuckyLady]

I like the Body Shop things, especially White Musk. But I do get very dry skin/exczma (spelling?) occasionally and find that the L'Occitane Shea Butter is the only lotion that works on it, even then I have to put a couple of layers on to get rid of the dryness. E45 cream actually seems to make it worse! I got a couple of the 500 ml Shea Butter lotion bottles when they were around £30 on Easter weekend, but I've been planning to try the SBC stuff which is significantly cheaper. I understand that the Propolis gel is good on bad skin conditions, so I will get this when I'm finished the L'Occitane.

As for the stuff that goes down the drain, well I've got a couple of bottles of nice stuff from QVC which I am using at the moment but as I'm now poor will be purchasing from teh high street in the future, goes off to cry in teh corner......

 

[Mam]

the problem with the high street stuff is that it makes me and my mum seriously itchy

I have the same problem SCW. Anything with sulfates and/or parabens dried out my sensitive skin and makes me itch like mad. I'm at present trying an organic range from Ebay. So far so good and less than half the price that I was paying for Liz Earle etc.

 

[boffy]

some things to watch out for when downgrading in shower gels and soaps:
tallow in most cheaper high street shops supermarket soaps.this is animal fat by product used in soap.( horse fat and in the war germany used human remains to make tallow) sorry for being explicit but....i for one will not use soap unless it is pure vegetal soap.
sodiun laurel suphate not too fussed but the cheaper companies use a lot more of this which is a degreaser used in washing up liquid and car cleaning products.some higher end use the bare minimum as it foams well but will use other less vigorous foamers.
l'occitane honey(check this as the old honey range did not ) and hand washes do not have sodium laurel sulphates.
if you learn about ingredients you can make better choices. sometimes cheaper on the high street and if you have a reaction they will give you your money back.
hope this helps!

 

[Catkins]

I too have started to use high street products. I love my Philosophy Amazing Grace firming body lotion but have found that it didn't really moisturise my scaly legs. I tried Dove Pro Age body lotion which is about £3.50ish and was amazed. My legs are now no longer reminicent of a reptile but are smooth and silky. I am really trying to ween myself off Elemis PCMC has anyone got any ideas?