What has happened to our English Rose Liz?

[Nikki]

I'm on a mission to check out some of those "cheap, NOT premium, beauty brands from the dreaded high street" & my billy bumper absolute bargains so far are....

Amazon, (ok the cyber dreaded high street but close enough), L'Oreal lash renewal serum for £1.99 for 7.5ml, (as opposed to Revitalash for minimum £60 for 3.5ml on Ebay, more on Q). £1.54 FLAT RATE postage 1st class. IT WORKS! I've had no lash fallout and they're looking a bit better than when I was using Revitalash!! Early days but signs are excellent!

St. Ives Collagen & Elastin body moisturiser, (I do have dry body skin) £1.99 for 400ml from a shop called Family Bargains. It's fab, no less effective that the Elemis nourishing one. (St Ives one also states that it doesn't have any parabens etc in it).

Flexitol skin oil, again from Family Bargains for 99p YES 99P for 60ml!! I mix a few of squirts with the St Ives moisturiser. It's full of natural oils in a coconut & olive oil base. It's got Arnica, Lavender, Calendula, rosehip & a few other natural oils in it. A tiny fraction of the price of Elemis's manoi melt stuff which I was using from my TSV's. Flexitol oil is excellent stuff, made in Australia.

I've ordered a Natio firming skin set as it has 5* reviews everywhere, rosehip organic facial oil, lifting moisturiser 50ml, eye cream 20ml & a couple of cleansers I will give away as have loads of Elemis cleansers which are very good already from TSV's. Total price £23 including p&p.

If everyone who buys all the skin care products from Q has a look around it's amazing what can be discovered! :rock:

Oh yes, also Judith Williams website, www.curabeauty.com does free p&p for orders over £35. I wouldn't be without her serum, so no Q p&p per item charges.

 

[DebraJane]

Nikki - will you still use the JW serum when you've got the Natio Rose hip Organic facial oil?

 

[Nikki]

Nikki - will you still use the JW serum when you've got the Natio Rose hip Organic facial oil?

Hi DJ Yes I will. I use the JW serum immediately after cleansing morning & night as it's water based. Then in the evenings only I'll see how I get on with the natio oil which I will apply after the JW one. Apparently the natio oil is great for combination skin for balancing as it's not gloopy/oily so as it was reasonable & came with the moisturiser in the deal I'll try it. I have been using the Decleor face oil several evenings a week but I won't be reordering as I think it's too rich for my skin x. (Not to mention bl**dy expensive)!

I may end up using the natio oil just for several evenings a week, see how I go with it. Only takes a few seconds to apply so worth trying given the rave reviews about it.

 

[Wrongsideof40]

I'm on a mission to check out some of those "cheap, NOT premium, beauty brands from the dreaded high street" & my billy bumper absolute bargains so far are....

Amazon, (ok the cyber dreaded high street but close enough), L'Oreal lash renewal serum for £1.99 for 7.5ml, (as opposed to Revitalash for minimum £60 for 3.5ml on Ebay, more on Q). £1.54 FLAT RATE postage 1st class. IT WORKS! I've had no lash fallout and they're looking a bit better than when I was using Revitalash!! Early days but signs are excellent!

St. Ives Collagen & Elastin body moisturiser, (I do have dry body skin) £1.99 for 400ml from a shop called Family Bargains. It's fab, no less effective that the Elemis nourishing one. (St Ives one also states that it doesn't have any parabens etc in it).

Flexitol skin oil, again from Family Bargains for 99p YES 99P for 60ml!! I mix a few of squirts with the St Ives moisturiser. It's full of natural oils in a coconut & olive oil base. It's got Arnica, Lavender, Calendula, rosehip & a few other natural oils in it. A tiny fraction of the price of Elemis's manoi melt stuff which I was using from my TSV's. Flexitol oil is excellent stuff, made in Australia.

I've ordered a Natio firming skin set as it has 5* reviews everywhere, rosehip organic facial oil, lifting moisturiser 50ml, eye cream 20ml & a couple of cleansers I will give away as have loads of Elemis cleansers which are very good already from TSV's. Total price £23 including p&p.

If everyone who buys all the skin care products from Q has a look around it's amazing what can be discovered! :rock:

Oh yes, also Judith Williams website, www.curabeauty.com does free p&p for orders over £35. I wouldn't be without her serum, so no Q p&p per item charges.

Great post Nikki. I've been thinking that since skincare TSV'S are now hitting the £60 plus mark, I am on the lookout for cheaper alternatives. I'm not willing or able to pay the ridiculous prices. So any tips greatfully received. It may be a good idea to start a thread in the Drop with great value alternatives. I'm on the lookout for a good hand cream. I have just finished LuLu's hand cream, I loved it but don't want to pay nearly £17 for it. Also love l'occitane and Liz Earle's. So can anyone recommend a good but cheaper alternative please.

 

[Tinkerbelle]

I'm a big fan of Crabtree & Evelyn handcream. Still not cheap at £8 for 50ml but you can usually buy hand cream collections that are better value. They do different sizes so you can buy smaller ones to pop in your handbag.

One of my absolute favourite high street buys is the Garnier 7 day body lotion. It's light enough to use whenever you wish but really does moisturise well and it's at worst £3.99 for a whopper bottle. And you can usually find them on offer.

Also the eBay cleansing balm Vienna recommended is amazing for a fiver. I've stuck mine in a pretty blue glass jar and I've fooled my girlie mate into believing it was an expensive brand.

 

[Nikki]

the eBay cleansing balm Vienna recommended is amazing for a fiver. I've stuck mine in a pretty blue glass jar and I've fooled my girlie mate into believing it was an expensive brand.

Haha decanting the balm, love it! :rock:

I mix a spray of the Flexitol oil with any old moisturiser I've got around for my hands. Like I say my body skin can get dry & itchy. I had dermatitis on my hands a few years ago so always make sure they're adequately moisturised. The oil works a treat as it blends with the moisturiser for an added boost. :wink:

 

[Tinkerbelle]

Haha decanting the balm, love it! :rock:

To be fair I often decant cleansers and face creams. I have a few 1930s dressing table set bits and bobs I've bought over the years and I love to use them. The blue jar is a bit later I think but it does have a sterling silver lid. How swish am I? With my £5 cleanser eh? )

 

[Marzy]

I'm another one who got the cleansing balm recommended by Vienna & have to agree,it's fab.

Lovely texture & smell & it does the job every bit as good as the expensive brands,it's very economical too as you only use a smidgeon to remove all makeup.

I also got the body butter which is beautiful but quite expensive as it costs a fiver for 50mls,the same size as the cleanser.It's lovely & rich,though.

I'll give the moisturiser a go soon as that seems brilliant value.

 

[Nikki]

Going slightly off track here but if anyone was tempted by the Konjack stuff Q were selling as an appetite suppressant/slimming aid Holland & Barrett do one at a fraction of the price, (when they do their buy 1 get 1 half price or 2nd one for 1p even better), called "Nature's Garden 90% Soya Protein". It's got papaya & pineapple enzymes in it which are known for reducing appetite. Forget those little sachets it comes in 454g tubs too! It takes about 20-30 mins to have an effect but really makes me feel fuller & contains far healthier nutritional ingredients imo. Also suitable for vegetarians. My last 2 tubs were 7 quid each on the buy 1 get the 2nd for 1p offer. Even at full price it's significantly cheaper at £14 for a massive tub than Q's alternative.

I mix 1 scoop with skimmed milk, tastes like horlicks without the sugar. Quite pleasant when you get used to it & no artificial sweetener in it either, my big bugbear! I take it once a day for a few days at a time before lunch. I think they sell it in the body builder section. It's low in calories at 78 cals a scoop and contains lots of vitamins & minerals.

 

[BusyLizzie]

I'm another one who got the cleansing balm recommended by Vienna & have to agree,it's fab.

Lovely texture & smell & it does the job every bit as good as the expensive brands,it's very economical too as you only use a smidgeon to remove all makeup.

I also got the body butter which is beautiful but quite expensive as it costs a fiver for 50mls,the same size as the cleanser.It's lovely & rich,though.

I'll give the moisturiser a go soon as that seems brilliant value.

Marzy, I'm in a state of shock here...... What about your shed loads of LE products? Surely there isn't room for other brands? :wink:

 

[Marzy]

Marzy, I'm in a state of shock here...... What about your shed loads of LE products? Surely there isn't room for other brands? :wink:

I'm saying nothing :angel:

 

[BusyLizzie]

I'm saying nothing :angel:

Perhaps best not to! :tongue:

 

[Pickles]

I have never been a big user of body lotions but I have started going swimming a lot and it has had an effect on my skin, so at the age of 41 i have just started using Johnsons baby oil! It was £1 from Asda and is lasting forever. Probably no good for severe dry skin, but keeps mine OK.

I have tried the alternatives to C&P but keep coming back to it because I love the smell and also I can slap it all over my sensitive eyes with no worries about smarting.