Beauty

Skincare on a budget: my top 8

affordable good skincare

affordable good skincareI’ve suffered from acne and sensitive, picky skin for years. When my skin was at its worst, I would spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on high-end skincare products in hopes that they would heal my skin. What I’ve learned over the years is that just because something is luxurious or pricey and comes in a pretty jar, does not mean that it will work.

Don’t get me wrong, my skincare routine does include a few pricey serums and creams that do work great, but I also have a few trusty and very affordable skincare products that I use on daily basis. Today I’ll talk about some of the best budget-friendly skincare products that work for acne-prone and sensitive skin.

No. 7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing BalmI wrote about this balm only few weeks a go (find my review right here) and I still love it just as much as on the first day I used it. One of the very first things that I do after coming home from work is to remove my makeup and cleanse my skin. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been using this balm and love how soft and supple my skin feels after each use.

Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater– I can’t even tell you how many bottles of this I went through ever since I’ve discovered it a few years a go. It’s great for sensitive skin, helps to soothe and calm the occasional redness and helps my skin feel hydrated as well. I love misting this on my face right after washing it or throughout the day, just for a quick hydrating boost.

Studio 35 Beauty Alpha Hydroxy Face Cream– I’ve reviewed this cream a while a go here on the blog (you can find my full review right here) and I still think that it’s one of the best AHA creams that I’ve used. It’s very affordable and really works great at restoring the skin and improving its texture.

Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer with Sunscreen SPF 50– this is pretty much one of the very few SPF moisturizers that does not irritate or burn my skin upon application. It’s formulated especially for sensitive skin and it works pretty well under makeup.

Aquaphor Healing Ointment– This is another great multi-tasker that’s pretty much the same thing as Vaseline, but I think that it has a slightly thinner formula. I can’t live without this stuff during winter. When my skin feels extremely dry, I always seal my moisturizer with a thin layer of this ointment at night and always wake up to smooth and soft skin. I also use it on my hands, cuticles, elbows, knees, etc.

Vaseline Healthy Hand & Nail Lotion– another product that I already wrote about here on the blog. It’s been one of my favorite hand creams for years now, it works great and smells amazing. I always carry this in bag and also have one on my night stand.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Retinol Facial Treatment with Multi-Vitamins– This is a great retinol night treatment. I’ve used this before I was prescribed the tretinoin gel and it really helps with reducing age spots and acne scars. Another very similar night-time retinol treatment is ROC Multicorrection Night Treatment. I’ve used it for years and it’s one of my favorite skincare products, one that I always come back to.

Smith’s Rosebud Salve– a girl can never have enough lip balms and this is still one of my favorite ones, it does wonders for dry, chapped lips. This also can be used for treating your cuticles, etc. It smells amazing and  I also love the vintage tin packaging.

What are your favorite skincare products?

24 Comments

  • Reply
    Lauren
    June 22, 2015 at 4:32 pm

    Some of my favourite skincare products here!

    Lauren x | http://laurenselwood.blogspot.co.uk/

  • Reply
    nereydaG1003
    June 22, 2015 at 4:42 pm

    I have a few No7 items and I love them for my sensitive skin. Lip balms are the best!

  • Reply
    Emma Louise
    June 22, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    I really want to try some of the No7 Skincare Range! I also posted my updated skincare routine today if you are looking for some new products to try :) x

    Emma | Emmys Beauty Cave

  • Reply
    Leticia (Thee Limited Edition)
    June 22, 2015 at 6:32 pm

    Great recommendations! I’m always looking for affordable skincare! The cleansing balm and studio 35 face cream I must try ASAP!

  • Reply
    Justyna F
    June 23, 2015 at 2:19 am

    I’ll have to try the Vaseline hand cream… :)

  • Reply
    Alina Bostan
    June 23, 2015 at 2:30 am

    I agree pricey definitely doesn’t equal effective and I usually stick to the more affordable brands because I feel like when I’m older with major wrinkles etc will be the time for me to really splurge haha. The Mario Badescu facial spray sounds lovely, must look into it x

    Beauty with charm

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      June 23, 2015 at 9:16 am

      Hehe, that’s true!! Whenever I do splurge on skincare I always do a lot of research and compare ingredient lists along with reviews, etc. I fell for “miracle” working products way too many times that did absolutely nothing for my skin!

  • Reply
    Emily Knott
    June 23, 2015 at 4:01 am

    I haven’t tried any of these products before, but love the sound of the daily moisturiser.

    http://www.britishbeautyaddict.com

  • Reply
    Dasha
    June 23, 2015 at 4:45 am

    I haven’t tried any of the products, but i think this post might be very helpful. I absolutely agree, sometimes high-end products, for some reasons especially body care ones, don’t help our skin at all! I use vaseline for my lips and it’s a perfect lipbalm, sometimes i put it on my elbows, but i’ve never used it as an actual handcream, that might be a good idea!

    http://coffeetalkwithdasha.blogspot.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      June 23, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      Thanks Dasha! I usually only use the healing ointment on my hands when they’re extremely dry, because it can get quite oily :)

  • Reply
    Jasmine Talks Beauty
    June 23, 2015 at 4:52 pm

    I’ve actually not tried any of these! I didn’t even know No7 did a cleansing balm and that facial spray sounds gorgeous :) xx

    Jasmine Talks Beauty

  • Reply
    Emily
    June 24, 2015 at 9:16 am

    I haven’t actually tried any of the bits you’ve mentioned here! The Nutrogena night treatment sounds perfect for me as I suffer from quite a lot of acne scarring – I’ll have to take a look into that! Great picks x

    emily x ❤ | emilyloula

  • Reply
    Sophie Sierra
    June 24, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    These sound like such beauties Paula! Aquaphor Healing Ointment sounds like such a marvellous miracle worker, so awesome it works in so many ways. Anything No 7 gets my vote but you know that already hehe ;) The Vaseline hand and nail lotion looks so soothingly good too. I really love No 7 beautiful skin exfoliator, it gives such a bright glow to my skin and wakes me up for the day. The pretty pink beads are a bonus too hehe. Have you tried it? I think you’d love it! :D <3

    Sophie | soinspo xo

  • Reply
    Sam Walker
    June 24, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    Hi there, where did you purchase the Mario Badescu spray? I would really love to try it out, but not sure if it is available in New Zealand. Thanks!

    http://www.theeverydayedit.com

    • Reply
      Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
      June 25, 2015 at 8:43 am

      Hi Sam, I always buy it on amazon.com I linked it in the post. I’m also not sure if it’s available in NZ. Hope you can find it, because it’s pretty great. ;)

  • Reply
    MARY IPANAG
    July 2, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    That Smith’s lip balm is my favorite. I have to check out these other things. I’m especially intrigued by the ROC night cream. Thanks for sharing! <3 (@hippiegypsy00)

  • Reply
    Karolina
    January 6, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    No7 are so underrated! I have a few products and love them! I have also tried that Smith’s lip balm and find it to be amazing! Great post! x

    Karolina
    http://www.astral-lane.blogspot.ie

Leave a Reply