Face Creams - Big Brands or High Street?

[Whatsgoinon?]

Just been totting up all the pennies, nay pounds, nay hundreds of pounds or even thousands of pounds I have spent over the many years with Q on Beauty products.

I must say that in the early days of AY, when it was more about educating you rather than the hard sell, you had Decleor (first purchase) and Gatineau as the main contenders. It was so easy back then, cleanse, tone, moisturise and now it is far more complicated with a cream for this or serum for that, a real minefield and you could spend a fortune try each and every one.

Well I've had a revelation of sorts whilst out shopping in the Supermarket and caught a glimpse of 'ASTRAL' cream and as I remember rightly a real favourite of Joanna Lumley. Should I give it a go for all of 90p for a 50ml pot?

Now I now lots of ladies will say it's got this in it or that, things that are probably scorned upon by beauty experts, but anyhow I decided to try it. Firstly Micellar Water to remove grime followed by a dollop of Astral...I have really sensitive skin and have been using Decleor's Neroli, but have still been getting breakouts, real red blotchy spots on my cheeks. Now I've got Decleor, Gatineau, Liz Earle to name but a few in my cupboard, all of which have not helped.

I woke up the next morning and my skin felt smooth, plumped, hydrated, then plucked up the courage to look in the mirror (glasses on first, blind as a bat) and the red blotches have all but disappeared...I was absolutely gobsmacked to say the least, I believe I have found my moisturiser at last, all 90p's worth...even cheaper than returning a product to Q :mysmilie_17:

 

[Glittergirl]

This is interesting, back in the day I religiously used Nivea mainly and the other odd high street cheepish face cream. I can report that despite having done loads of sunbathing in the past (who didn't in the crazy 70/80's) that so far not too many wrinkles or otherwise! I did apply the cream from an early age and now thinking that this helped.

They say that skin cream has come on tonnes since then but has it really? I do dabble in the odd QVC kit and like Gatineau but also use High Street brands and can honestly say that some of these are very good and at a fraction of the price!

I will never buy an expensive Micellar Water, have looked into this and there is not much difference as to the ones on the High Street! :mysmilie_7:

 

[Vienna]

I`ve done the expensive face cream route and I`ve done the buying QVC brands route too and then I came to my senses and realised I was paying for the hype and the name. They did nothing different than cheaper brands have done for me in the 3 years since I stopped spending a small fortune on jars or bottles of what is essentially 99% water.
My skin is no worse since I stopped buying expensive brands and life is much simpler. At the moment I`m using Cyclax moistura cream at less than a fiver a jar, I`ve also used Olay, Simple, Garnier, Asda own brand and lots of others and when I`ve used up one jar then I can buy another without even considering the cost.
As for Astral, I love the Astral soft in the white tube. It spreads easier and the last lot I bought were 3 for 2 in Superdrug.
I must say I`m really liking the Cyclax moistura one too and if you Wiki Cyclax, you`ll see they provide face creams to the Queen and her skin aint half bad for 90 !

 

[Mazza]

Well the gas engineer said to me today he couldn't believe I was a pensioner, so I will be sticking with my Q faves of Decleor, Gatineau, Elemis and AD Skin Synergy! Flora Mare is in the stash but not yet tried. However if I had to buy in the DHS I would include the blue one from L'Occy (immortelle?) and perhaps peony although only tried a sample. When I go into hospital (a few times recently) or away for a weekend and don't want to take a crate of stuff, I have started to use the tubes of Nivea and find that pretty good. I also have a selection of Body Shop micellar oil and some face masks to see if they are as good as the pricey brands.

 

[lynnonthelake]

I've really gone off rubbing creams into my face,my new favourite is Lancome Energie De Vie a glow boosting liquid that has really made my skin soft.

 

[donna255]

Astral and Nivea are very thick so could block pores as they are full of mineral oil. Just be aware. Who remembers last year the big Palmers Coco Butter? That dropped of pretty quickly after breakouts and blocked pores.

As I have mild rosacea quite a few ingredients I cannot use, so cheap and even some expensive break me out big time. Elemis seems to work okay for me so I stick with that, but wait for deals.

Years ago I used all sorts and swatch around, sadly no more

 

[Anna]

I tend to use the M & S formula range - I love their neck cream. Just waiting for it to be on 3 for the price of 2 again. It has been ages since they had that offer. I had tried Decleor and really liked the oils - I love the smell of the products too, but in all honesty, I can't say I noticed a difference in my skin, just my purse.

 

[donna255]

I swear by their neck cream, used it for years.

 

[boffy]

the high street use tried and tested but basic ingredients that are less likely to irritate the general publics skin. an old friend of mine her husband is a dermatologist and they use base petroleum creams not essential oils and stacks of perfumes and odd ingredients as they are likely to make patients skin suffer. nive and astral et all are good bets to keep skin from drying out and feeling comfortable. i suspect thats all they should do.

 

[Bettyboo]

I use Nivea every day and a drop of Palmers Oil at night then I run the residue on my hands through my hair. For shower and body I use Soap and Glory the bottle with the pink pump top is my absolute favourite and it lasts ages.

 

[boffy]

soap and glory foot cream is the best. i have used l'occitane footcream for many many years. tried the soap and glory one and its far superior. it has some glycolic added and my feet have never been so smooth and soft.

 

[iloveshopping]

soap and glory foot cream is the best. i have used l'occitane footcream for many many years. tried the soap and glory one and its far superior. it has some glycolic added and my feet have never been so smooth and soft.

Watch our for going down stairs with bare feet then. I almost broke my neck one morning having put L'Occitane foot cream on the night before!

 

[spartacus]

I've never stuck to one brand, I liked trying new things, so in my early days of qvc I tried most of the skincare brands except gatineau. Since switching to certified cruelty free brands only a few years ago, I now use Neal's Yard Remedies and M&S own brands, whatever is on offer at the time.

 

[shopperholic]

Me too I'll slap any old (cruelty free) brand on my face, yes that's right, I'm a right slapper. :mysmilie_17:

 

[iloveshopping]

I use Nivea every day and a drop of Palmers Oil at night then I run the residue on my hands through my hair. For shower and body I use Soap and Glory the bottle with the pink pump top is my absolute favourite and it lasts ages.

When I had my hysterectomy the surgeon said to use Palmer's Cocoa formula on my scar. I did and my bikini line scar completely vanished in a year.

 

[Mazza]

soap and glory foot cream is the best. i have used l'occitane footcream for many many years. tried the soap and glory one and its far superior. it has some glycolic added and my feet have never been so smooth and soft.

I have E45 cream for my operation scars and use that as my foot cream. But whatever cream I use I still have terrible hard skin by the time my next chiropodist appt comes round! I think it's hereditary, my mother had the same.

 

[SuziQ]

I really like the simply pure hydrating serum from superdrug (£2.59- lauded by Sali Hughes ) and I am currently loving eucerin moisturiser- not exactly cheap but last ages and not on QVC

 

[Turandot]

I used Ponds moisturiser for years and Ann French cleansing milk the sensitive one .They were fabulous for my skin,very uncomplicated but they changed the ingredients .Ann French all but disappeared. I quite like Decleor especially I ris but it can clog the pores.

 

[Whatsgoinon?]

We have a great big tub of Aqueous cream in the bathroom, which apparently is the base for many creams on the market. It's what I used on my operation scars and really cheap. Will keep my eyes out for the Astral tube version, which I think had Aloe Vera in it and would be much lighter for daytime and keep the cream for night. Just need to find something cheap for around the eye area now that doesn't make them more puffier than they already are!

 

[historymystery]

Such an interesting thread. My Mum swore by Nivea (although she did sometimes use Astral as well and Ponds Cold Cream, too) - and she had beautiful skin all her life. I've always used Nivea and I also swear by E45 cream, as my hands (in particular) are inclined to be dry. I also like Johnsons baby lotion for my hands, and find these "cheapy" products work well for me. That's not to say that over the years I've never experimented with other potions, but like others have said, I've never noticed any difference for the (usually) big amount of extra money I've parted with. Now, I stick with the old favourites, and they have never irritated my skin.