MY UNSUNG BEAUTY HEROES UNDER £20

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I often don't give products I use on the daily enough love; they're not shiny or new or that obviously exciting. However, it's affordable beauty month so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the low-cost products that have made it into my everyday rotation...

The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser* | £11.10 | has been kind of a slow burn for me; I've taken it with me travelling pretty often and it just always seems to work. It's a great all-rounder; not too rich and creamy, a little bit gel-like but not foaming, with a kind of lotion-y / emulsion-y feel on the skin. It's light and movable enough to feel quick and easy to use, it has enough water-based ingredients to leave the skin feeling fresh and clean, but - most importantly - it's nourishing enough for my dry skin and doesn't strip back its moisture levels. This product is formulated with gentle glycolipids as a gentle surfactant, and until recently I've really not come across much in affordable and drugstore products. For me, this is a morning and / or second cleanse (though it claims to remove makeup too) and for that, it works a treat!

Next, we have to talk about the La Roche-Posay Cicaplast B5+ Baume | £18 (100ml) / £10 (40ml). This is a product I have in two sizes: the smaller version for when I travel and the extra large bottle which lives on my bathroom shelf! This is a versatile, budget-friendly skincare hero formulated with B5 (panthenol) to restore balance and hydration in the skin, the active soothing component of the cica plant extract, occlusives to lock in hydration, zinc to calm and soothe inflammation and glycerin to draw in moisture. It comes out like a sort of creamy paste and I typically use it to heal areas of irritation on my skin, to protect my skin against harsh weather conditions or on very dry or rough patches to restore hydration levels. Some people even use this as a kind of overnight face mask to prevent water loss through the skin. I've used this on everything from mosquito bites to post-tretinoin skin! It's a product I think I'll always repurchase, I just hope the price doesn't keep going up...

A newer product I've honestly not put down since I've opened it is the Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Rice + Probiotics SPF 50+ PA++++* | £17 (15% off with code JASMINETALKSBEAUTY (affiliate). This is a sunscreen that honestly feels like you're just applying a nice moisturiser! It melts right in, it doesn't look or feel greasy, it doesn't pill up with my other skincare or makeup products and it doesn't sting my eyes. It's cosmetically elegant, doesn't leave a cast and makes daily sunscreen truly effortless. This product also contains added extras to soothe the skin, provide antioxidant benefits and help support an even skin tone, such as probiotics, niacinamide and plant extracts.

Next, just on the cusp of 'affordable for what it is', we have the Naturium Bio-Lipid Body Lotion* | £16.50 | which I use every day and still have plenty left of! This is such a quick and easy product to reach for after your morning shower; it has easily-accessible pump packaging and the consistency makes it quick and easy to spread over the skin (plus it doesn't leave behind any greasy excess). At the same time it's packed full of amazing stuff for your skin barrier, like hydrating glycerin, nourishing shea butter, skin-softening plant oils such as moringa, rosehip and squalane, soothing panthenol and Sodium PCA and also niacinamide to boost skin barrier function and improve discolouration. It leaves my skin soft and free from irritation, as well as providing nourishment that lasts all day, even during a cold winter!

My makeup pick for this post is a product I've been using for coming up to a decade now: the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara | £9.99. I flirt with other formulas, but honestly; this is the one I always go back to, and when I do I'm left wondering why I ever left... I just struggle to justify spending £20 to try a new mascara when I have something that costs a tenner and always works! This has a thick, curved silicone wand that really grips onto the lashes from the root to evenly distribute the product so you get amazing lift, length and volume that still looks separated. It's the perfect all-rounder; it's thick enough, doesn't need more than a couple of coats and never looks clumpy or spidery or too much. I'd wear it for a night out, I'd wear it for a minimal makeup day... it doesn't flake, smudge or transfer and unless they reformulate this and ruin it; I'm sure I'll be using this for decades to come!

A product I probably could've or should've put in my drugstore post but completely forgot about is the Inkey List's Hyaluronic Acid Hair Treatment | £10.99. I don't know why because I use this near enough every time I wash my hair! This is a really great treatment that I apply to damp hair before blow-drying; it's a clear gel with hyaluronic acid (plus panthenol), which draws hydration into the skin or hair. This isn't sticky and it doesn't weigh my hair down, but it gives my skin this extra sheen that I miss whenever I travel without this product. As someone who doesn't particularly have shiny hair, this gives me as close to that 'mirror' look as I'm going to get!

Finally, we have the Colab Dry Shampoo* | £3.49 | which I was so excited to discover (or rediscover) a couple of years back. As a teenager and at university I'd always used Batiste, but around 8 years ago I developed a sensitive, dryness-prone scalp so chalky formulas were off the table and I decided to give Colab another try (having only found formulas at £25+ a pop that didn't irritate my scalp). This actually worked for me! Don't get me wrong; I don't use dry shampoo every wash cycle but if I just need an extra bit of oomph and volume, or need to get that one last day out of my hair, this works perfectly. It's super-lightweight and essentially clear and traceless in my hair so it absorbs some oils and adds some texture without accumulating on my scalp and causing irritation. Plus, this product comes in a bunch of scents, including this candy floss and rainbow sweet Unicorn iteration!

What are your everyday favourites under £20?

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