Amazing Skincare Products for £10 or Less

I’ve tried my fair share of Clinique and my fair share of Simple; great skincare doesn’t need to break the bank, so I’ve picked out some absolute must-haves at the bargain price of £10 or less.

For exfoliating I’m super-impressed with the Good Things Manuka Honey Pore-Refining Scrub (£4.99). It’s kind of a cream formula with exfoliating grit in it, so although it’s very effective in removing dead skin it’s also very moisturising so it’s putting back into your skin what it’s taking out. I have combination skin and it works for me, however I think those with dry skin types will love this. It's one of very few 'pore refining' product I've tried that I've noticed a visible difference with, plus it smells lovely.

I’m slightly very addicted to face masks right now (I also really rate Body Shop Warming Mineral and from Good Things the Manuka Honey and 5 Minute Miracle!) however I’ve whittled it down to two very different types to show you. First up is a sheet mask; the Montagne Jeunesse Tea Tree Face Spa* (£1.29). I think this brand do some really nice, fun face masks but in terms of ‘wow, this has seriously fixed my skin!’ as opposed to making it soft or whatever, this has to be my top pick. It’s great for the morning after the night before, when you can feel it taking a toll on your skin. It’s got this invigorating minty quality and it just refreshes your skin and there’s a noticeable improvement to blemishes pretty much straight away.

Another game-changing blemish-fixer is the Una Brennan Super Facialist Salicylic Acid Clay Mask (£8.99). I do this a couple of times a week and it is seriously miraculous. It’s one you can really feel working. You wash it off after 5 minutes and even then I can see a noticeable reduction in the swelling and redness of angry blemishes. It also has a brightening effect and you get such a good amount in the tube it’s really cost-effective.

I’ve picked out 3 cleansers, which do 3 very different things. First up is the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (£4.99). My beloved Bioderma is £10 or thereabouts but I picked this as you get so much more in the bottle for a lot less and given the price difference there isn’t that much in it in terms of their effectiveness. You can easily use this for all over your face (but I have something I prefer for that, which I’ll tell you about in a minute!) but I tend to remove my eye makeup with it. A bit of this on some cotton wool pads, hold it on your eyes for a few seconds and then wipe away your eye makeup. I have pretty sensitive eyes, which means I’m a little squeamish about putting gloopy things on them! This is genuinely as gentle as water.

For removing the rest of my makeup I love the Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil (£10) (the Butter version is also fab, however for this post it was a couple of quid too expensive). It basically just melts your makeup right off; I find it so efficient to just get everything off as quickly as possible. If you have oily or combination skin (like me!) don’t be afraid of the cleansing oil! You wash it off afterwards so it doesn’t aggravate your shine. After using this I’ll use a cleanser as I’m wetting my face anyway, so might as well!

I also really enjoy the Yes to Tomatoes Clarifying Cleanser for Combination Skin (£6.99) (shout out to the Body Shop’s Tea Tree Face Wash too!) It’s a gel cleanser so definitely more for the oily/combination skin type and I really like using it in the morning to clear my pores of any dirt, sweat or anything else that may have developed overnight. You could use it after removing makeup too if you wanted. I’m not quite sold on the fragrance but overall it’s a great product.

I’ve thrown an eye cream into the mix because although they don’t have the fancy fragrances or produce a ‘wow’ effect, they’re pretty essential if you’re puffy-eyed like me! I’ve tried a couple of others but I keep going back to the Boots Vitamin E Eye Cream (£2.54). It’s hydrating but doesn’t aggravate my oily eye area and most importantly it reduces my puffiness dramatically. Eye creams don’t really work on hyperpigmentation so I can’t say my dark circles have seen an improvement but to be honest I found the same with eye creams 10x the price.

Last but certainly not least is my secret weapon against blemishes: the La Roche-Posay Serozinc Zinc Sulfate Solution (currently £5.66, usually £8.50). It’s basically a toner in a can, so before bed, after removing my makeup but before applying moisturiser, I give my face a quick spritz. My face feels instantly mattified and although the other effects aren’t immediate I seriously notice I get more breakouts when I stop using this! The spray can means you really get every last drop out of this already well-priced product.

What are your budget skincare must-haves?

 

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