Please Recommend Face Cream

coolaboola

I would like to treat myself to a nice face cream and would appreciate some recommendations.

I have combination skin (oily T-bar, dry elsewhere). My skin is very fair so decent SPF would be essential. And, now I'm in my mid-thirties, I'm sprouting baby wrinkles which may need addressing. Anything that smells nice wins extra bonus points.

I've only used generic moisturisers e.g. Simple to date. I'm not prepared to throw silly money on a face cream (silly money = three figure prices... feck it! Who am I kidding! Silly money = two figure prices if the first figure is bigger than 1 unless you can make a very convincing case for it!)

Any suggestions?

zzxx

Hi

I've recently changed to Clarins Multi Active and I love it. I'm the same age bracket at you and I can see a real difference in the baby wrinkles (!) since I started using it. I got the night cream as well. They're not cheap, up to 60e each but they last a good while and if you can get someone to pick them up in the Duty Free you're onto a winner!

coolaboola

Thanks zzxx. Hmm. €60? To paraphrase that other face cream's ad, I'm not sure I'm worth it.

I'm might need to take a few baby steps to that sort of spending on my baby wrinkles. Still, I'll keep an eye out for it on specials...

In the meantime, any budget buy recommendations?

jenzersboi

coolaboola wrote: »

Thanks zzxx. Hmm. €60? To paraphrase that other face cream's ad, I'm not sure I'm worth it.

I'm might need to take a few baby steps to that sort of spending on my baby wrinkles. Still, I'll keep an eye out for it on specials...

In the meantime, any budget buy recommendations?

I would go for No Protect and Perfect. Its €26.95, but you can wait until the no7 €7.50 off voucher comes out and then its €19.45. Its an excellent cream with fantastic 5* factor 15 UVA+UVB Protection. This is defo the cream to pick up in my opinion. I always use lancome, but when funds arent great, I always go for this :-)

E.T.

coolaboola wrote: »

Thanks zzxx. Hmm. €60? To paraphrase that other face cream's ad, I'm not sure I'm worth it.

I'm might need to take a few baby steps to that sort of spending on my baby wrinkles. Still, I'll keep an eye out for it on specials...

In the meantime, any budget buy recommendations?

It's way cheaper from feelunique.co.uk - €42.75, and if you sign up with them and register Clarins as your favourite brand you'll get another 10% off every time you buy anything from the Clarins range.

coolaboola

Thanks very much for the tips.

I'll give the No. 7 stuff a whirl (and may yet 'graduate' to Clarins!). When do Boots have their €7.50 No.7 vouchers available?

BTW, is it the Protect and Perfect serum or cream ... there seems to be a gaggle of lotions and potions in the range. How do you use a serum? Is it instead of a moisturiser? Do you need both?

jenzersboi

coolaboola wrote: »

Thanks very much for the tips.

I'll give the No. 7 stuff a whirl (and may yet 'graduate' to Clarins!). When do Boots have their €7.50 No.7 vouchers available?

BTW, is it the Protect and Perfect serum or cream ... there seems to be a gaggle of lotions and potions in the range. How do you use a serum? Is it instead of a moisturiser? Do you need both?

I dont think it will be for another month or so unfortunately, but keep an eye out!
Buy the cream, the serum is an extra, you dont need it. Its like a treat... its a concentrated anti-ageing product, it provides ONLY this though, no hydration, so the cream is more essential. The serum you would use about a pea size for your whole face and them put the cream on top. It does feel gorgeous and certainly has results but if youre going for one, then go for the Day Cream. Dont pick night cream over day cream either. The Day cream has SPF, which i no harm having it at night, bu you really do need it during the day!! Hope this helps :-)

wosheen

Two of my friends (also mid-thirties) swear by the Aldi anti-wrinkle day cream! One of the girls in German and said all her friends in Germany use it, the other girl is Irish. It gets written up the odd time in magazine as being a great inexpensive cream.

Here's one article I found on it when i searched: http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/beauty/177745/supermarket-anti-ageing-cream.html

Very tempted to try it myself as skincare has cost me a small fortune down the years, but a few months ago I finally got the best skin I've had in yonks using a combination of other brand products, so I don't want to mess with anything new just yet

lorebringer

Olays Regenerist range is very good and priced at around €30 (there are more expensive items in the range), they are light but still very effective, have SPF and are generally a good range (Olay tends to be quite good in general though, esp. considering the price). I found that the Clinique and Clarins stuff are very oily and heavy on my skin, and I have dry skin (some of the Clinique range is not too bad but if I am paying a high price I expect to get something I am totally happy with, not something that's "ok").

coolaboola

You're brilliant! Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ok, I'm reporting back. Epic fail on treating myself... Having been swayed by a number of reviews, etc. I've bought a bunch of lotions and potions from ... Aldi! Yup, wosheen, in mooching around for info and recommendations the Lacura (Aldi own-brand) products kept popping up. I'm glad to hear that your acquaintances concur with the info I've found to date.

As a dedicated recessionista, the low prices meant I wouldn't have to remortgage the house to give them a whirl. So at the weekend I bought loads of stuff:

• Multi-intensive serum
• Q10 moisturising day cream
• Q10 nourishing night cream
• Eye moisturising cream
• Eye caffeine roll-on
• Wrinkle filler (ooh, the glamour!)
• Foundation
• Concealer pen
• Lip gloss

All for about €30!

I've been using them now for nearly a week (early days yet) and here's what I've found so far:

The serum is very, very rich. It's the first time I've used a serum and took a couple of goes to realise that a very little goes a very long way.

Both the creams are also very rich and I've found that my face is positively shiny after application. Now, my face tends to be a bit shiny anyway, due to oily skin, especially on my forehead and nose. But after applying the serum and/or the creams I look, well, slick! (As I do when I use Boots Soltan 'Invisible' (I think not!) SPF 50). I've been using matt powder to tone it down, which sorts the problem out but I think on balance I'd prefer something that didn't make me 'glow' quite so much (as in horses sweat, men perspire but ladies only glow!) Especially as I don't usually wear make up (is that sacrilege to say on the Beauty forum?)

The eye cream and roll-on are grand. I'm not noticing any dramatic difference though but certainly no ill effects.

The wrinkle filler I've only used once. Maybe it reacted with one of the other products or my sun block but I found that it rubbed off in little clumps during the day when I touched or rubbed the area where it was applied. Hmm. I haven't used it since. Perhaps I should give it another shot...

I'm wearing the foundation for the first time today. It's fine. The colour (10, Transparent) seems a reasonable match for my skin tone. It was easy to apply and hasn't caked or clogged. It's my first time in a long time wearing foundation as I've been using tinted moisturisers (No. 7 with SPF) instead til now. As with the tinted moisturiser, the foundation left my skin looking slick and shiny (in not a good way!) but I'm not sure if that wasn't all the other products I was wearing under the foundation coming through, namely: Soltan 'Invisible' SPF 50, serum, day cream and eye cream (overkill?)

I'm not sure about the concealer, even though it got rave reviews from a number of sources (comparing it to a considerably more expensive but otherwise very similar YSL product). I got 'Cashmere', the palest shade available in the shop. It's considerably paler than the palest foundation. The application is a bit clumsy (or that could be just me!) In the end I resorted to my original stick concealer. Maybe I just need more practice with the brush.

The lip gloss was grand. Not too sticky and very subtle colour tint. I prefer my original gloss though, which has been knocking around my various handbags for so long that the brand name and indeed all other identifying features have been obliterated. Suffice to say, it's one of the cheap and cheerful brands (Rimmel? Maybeline?) and has a nice cooling effect after application as well as good colour and reasonable staying power.

I must also report that I have 'acquired' a couple of spots in the past week. You'd think Nature would cut us some slack - I thought my 30's would be a brief golden age of skin condition between the end of pimples and the start of wrinkles. Now I have both!

Anyway, these spots may be due to lotions and potions discussed above or the fact that I'm fiddling around putting stuff (anything) on and off my face a lot more than usual. Or hormonal changes (yay! boo! :P) Or that I also used a facial mask mid-week which I haven't done in quite some time (this search for nice skin cream is all part of a bit of theraputic pampering)

So there you have it. I'm not sure I've discovered in Aldi the exilir of eternal youth or even the skin cream for me (though maybe it's a bit too soon to tell). Then again, I haven't broken the bank either. I'll keep going with all the above unless my skin insists otherwise and might give some of the other products recommended here a whirl when these are finished. Worst case scenario I'd be happy to use any of the lotions as a luxurious hand cream.

I hope any or all of the above is of some use to you. Thanks again for your suggestions (and keep 'em coming if you are so inspired)

c

wosheen

WOW Coolaboola thanks for the impressive reviews of all the products!! Good to learn about

curlywurly26

I was told by my beaty therapist firend that your skin is 'mature' from the age os 24 and that's when you need to start looking after it....que mad dash to boots!

I'm using the Nivea Q10 plus stuff - day & night cream and also eye cream and I'm finding it great! Even though I'm only in my twenties therefore no wrinkles as of yet, I have quite deep frown lines as apparently I'm always frowing at work and when I'm reading! I have found they've been lessened since using these (about 2 months I've been using them now) so will keep it up!

There about €12 each I think in boots but they're in 3 for 2 a lot!

workstoomuch

Im in my late twenties and a beautician friend recommended Decleor products - ive been using them for a year now and i swear by them - even the fake tan is fab!

They are pricy, but the creams go a long way!

pencilsharp

You should try essence 'my skin' range from Pennys. I bought the moisturisers earlier in the week and I'm really impressed. I know they are aimed at younger people but I have found it really good. Tempted to try more of the products and they are really cheap!


http://beaut.ie/blog/2011/essence-my-skin-is-young-fresh-and-budgetastic-like-skittles-for-skin/

Loopie

workstoomuch wrote: »

Im in my late twenties and a beautician friend recommended Decleor products - ive been using them for a year now and i swear by them - even the fake tan is fab!

They are pricy, but the creams go a long way!

workstoomuch...completely agree with you re Decleor, their products are absolutely gorgeous. You say the fake tan is fab...do tell... what's the colour like? Does it smell? Wear off in flaky clumps? I saw it in Clerys during the week but just gave it a glance and kept walking.

Op, if you can, go into a department store, Clerys sell Decleor, and ask for a sample and see how you get on with it. It would be worth saving up for it, or alternatively, if you can wait there will be sets out for Christmas (did I just say Christmas...gulp!!). When I can't afford to get it, I use Oil of Olay (skin is a little dry with it but I use the decleor oil under it and that sorts it) and I use the Aldi night cream (sparingly) as, as you found in your review, their products are quite thick!

workstoomuch

Hi Loopie,

Smells quite like the other aromatherapy products (i use the hydrafloral range - so like that scent) wears quite well and very easy to apply!!!

i swear by the ranges now, the night oils are my new favourites, my skin feels great in the morning and they smell fab!!!

The girls in clerys are always great for samples OP, defo worth going in to get some!!!

Tayla

I've been seeing rave reviews for this product lately, I keep meaning to look for it in boots but keep forgetting!

http://www.boots.com/en/Johnsons-Daily-Essentials-24hour-Day-Cream-with-SPF-15-for-Normal-Skin-50ml-_1110461/

lorebringer

Tayla wrote: »

I've been seeing rave reviews for this product lately, I keep meaning to look for it in boots but keep forgetting!

http://www.boots.com/en/Johnsons-Daily-Essentials-24hour-Day-Cream-with-SPF-15-for-Normal-Skin-50ml-_1110461/

I used the night cream of this and it made my skin feel really greasy, the day cream was very good though, if not a bit light for my skin (I have super dry skin), and cheap! Definately check it out!

*note to self - buy more Johnsons face cream *

pushki

I really really recommend cetaphil cleanser and moisturiser, been using it for about 2 months and its totally gt rid of annying pimples and dry patches. Excellent !!!

chupi

I love trilogy rosehip oil, it's reviewed on Beaut.ie here

I use it before hopping into bed and was worried it would be really oily but it's actually gorgeous, my skin feels baby soft in the morning! Plus that review on beaut has a study saying it's amazing for wrinkles

Might work for you OP?

tweety11981

I too have an oily T zone and dry skin elsewhere, i use clinique moisturising lotion and find it brilliant, the tiniest bit goes a long way! Hope this helps

solerina

curlywurly26 wrote: »

I was told by my beaty therapist firend that your skin is 'mature' from the age os 24 and that's when you need to start looking after it....que mad dash to boots!

I'm using the Nivea Q10 plus stuff - day & night cream and also eye cream and I'm finding it great! Even though I'm only in my twenties therefore no wrinkles as of yet, I have quite deep frown lines as apparently I'm always frowing at work and when I'm reading! I have found they've been lessened since using these (about 2 months I've been using them now) so will keep it up!

There about €12 each I think in boots but they're in 3 for 2 a lot!

Was in Boots this morning and Nivea Q10 is 2 for 15.50, I went in to buy the night cream which was 12.99 for one....naturally I bought 2 for 15.50 !!!

curlywurly26

Ohhh must stock up - thanks!

ger vallely

Hi, i second chupi-Trilogy is AMAZING. it really actually works and you will want to buy everything in their range. Also,I am amazed by the amount of people who put so many chemical products on their skin. Give your skin some love ladies,look after it. another non chemical wonder for the skin is pure virgin raw coconut oil. It really is so beautiful. A mazzive tub in the health shop costs €14 or there abouts and will last for a year. Even though it's an oil(which hardens in our low temperatures) it sinks in perfectly and one application in the morning will leave your skin feeling baby soft until bedtime. Please try it, dump the laboratory produced chemicals and try some of mother natures wonders!!

Loopie

workstoomuch wrote: »

Hi Loopie,

Smells quite like the other aromatherapy products (i use the hydrafloral range - so like that scent) wears quite well and very easy to apply!!!

i swear by the ranges now, the night oils are my new favourites, my skin feels great in the morning and they smell fab!!!

The girls in clerys are always great for samples OP, defo worth going in to get some!!!

Just one more on the fake tan (sorry for hijacking thread!) - is it a nice natural looking colour? Thanks!:)