I got a call from a girlfriend recently, all breathless and excited, having just seen an ad for a skincare line that promised to make you “look 10 years younger after only one month of use.” “But it’s $200,” she wailed. “Should I try it?”
Friends know that I’ve been in the beauty industry for, well…ever, and I’m an unabashed beauty product junkie. I love the rich creams, the shimmery gold jars, the yummy scents, and the promises of youthful beauty, especially at an age where everything from the neck down has staged a coup on my once-perky body and taken my youth south of the border, with no return in sight.
However, I’m also a bit jaded about product promises vs. product delivery. I ask questions. I check ingredients. I want to know what it’s going to do for me, and exactly how it’s going to do that. Over the years, I’ve become a beauty product Sherpa to an extended group of girlfriends, who freely call from their homes, cars, or the Nordstrom cosmetic counter, asking “Is this product worth the money?”
After a quick response to her question (No, you do not need to spend $200 on your skincare line), she suggested a post on where to splurge and where to save on beauty products. I love it when friends and family suggest post ideas (helps avoid nasty writer’s block), and so to encourage a continuation of that activity, I promptly agreed.
Following is my Insider’s Guide to Beauty Products, Part I.
Many women, unfortunately, rely on makeup to hide the damage to their faces from years of stress, sun exposure, environmental toxins, bizarre diets, too much alcohol, and too little sleep. But makeup should not (and cannot) be expected to cover up blotchy, sallow, fried skin. Makeup can make good skin glow, but repair is a function of a targeted skin care routine. It doesn’t need to be complex or expensive. It just needs to be good.
A simple, but effective skin care regimen includes a cleanser, an exfoliator, and a moisturizer with sunscreen. That’s it. You don’t need to buy them all at Nordstrom, but you can’t find them all at Walmart.
1. Cleansers. This is where you can save a bundle. The most important thing to remember about cleansers is that you rinse them off. Regardless of how many anti-aging ingredients are supposedly in there, cleaners don’t stay on your skin long enough to do anything and they’re not absorbed into the skin. Why pay more? Inexpensive, unscented drugstore products work great.
2. Exfoliators. These are products designed to remove dead skin from your face. Without exfoliation, none of your other products will work. Dead skin sits on your face, layered like a shingle roof on your house, and works the same way. Nothing gets in (including your expensive, anti-aging moisturizer) and nothing gets out (dirt, oil, and environmental toxins that accelerate aging). Every product line from Olay to Chanel has one, and they’re all good. Find one from your favorite brand and use it every day. But go easy. You’re not stripping furniture. Gentle, daily use will make your skin smoother and more translucent, while increasing the absorption and effectiveness of your other skincare products. Bonus: Your makeup will also look better.
3. Moisturizers/Sunscreens. Most good moisturizers come with at least a 15 SPF, and this is where you’re going to want to spend some money. I get asked this one all the time. Are higher-priced moisturizers better than the drugstore ones? In a word, yes. Not because of the glitzy jars and the blinged-out sales counters. It’s because of what’s in them. They contain better quality and higher amounts of key anti-agers like collagen, hyaluronic acid, and Retin-A. Retin-A is widely recognized as a rock star warrior against environmental agers (i.e. sun, wind, dust, hard water) and one of the first topical ingredients proven to actually help repair existing damage. You want this. You want this a lot. You don’t need Crème de Mer for $195 a jar, but go to a store like Nordstrom or Sephora and buy the best you can afford. This is the product where you get what you pay for.
4. Eye Creams. The cash cow of the beauty industry. The most generous thing I can say about these is that the marketing is pure genius. “Let’s tell every woman that buys a moisturizer from us that the skin around her eyes is somehow different than the skin on the rest of her face, then sell her a tiny jar of obscenely overpriced cream, in addition to the $75 moisturizer she just purchased (which, admittedly only a moment ago, we told her was fabulous, but now we’re saying needs an expensive booster for that “special eye area.” Just talk fast and add it on while her credit card is out). We’ll make millions.”
Seriously, dudes??
If your moisturizer is high-quality (you’re not just slapping $4 body lotion onto your face) and contains sufficient quantities of proven anti-agers, including sunscreen, it will also serve as your eye cream. You do not need a second product. Use your yummiest anti-aging moisturizer/sunscreen in the morning, all over your face, including around the eye area, and you’re done.
5. A quick comment on Brand loyalty. This is one of the most commonly asked questions ever. What brand should I use? Very few industry insiders purchase all their products from the same line. “These products work best when used together” is a sales pitch. If you love Chanel’s moisturizer at $98, but prefer Clinique’s exfoliating lotion, that’s what you should buy. Use them both with Dove soap. Feel free to mix it up. Buy the products you like, from whatever line you like, as long as they perform their functions.
And there you have it. Part II, coming soon, is titled Makeup Products. Where to Save, Where to Splurge. In the meantime, if you have any questions, put them in the Comments section below, and I’ll answer them if I can!
I use Ivory soap and nothing else. I rarely even wear make up. I probably look older than I need to, but a beauty regime all appears so complicated that it makes me want to cry. But I applaud people who excel in areas where I do not. (Sewing, decorating, fashion, gardening, team sports, travel, math, science, and so on.) If such things make people happy, go for it!
I love you. This info should be stamped on the wall behind every cosmetics counter.
Thanks, Karen! I departed a bit today from humor, but it was a special request I couldn’t refuse! :)
Whatever works for each of us, Karen! When I was actively working in the industry, I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Most women feel the way you do! :)
Cetaphil from Costco. Big plastic bottles. Every day in the shower. I swear by Lancome’s Genifique serum but will use a heavy moisturizer on top from a variety of brands, this month it’s Clinique. I use an oily makeup remover in the shower, a cream to get those last vestiges off afterwards. And I take samples, gladly! I never liked Creme de Mer, it smells cloying and makes my skin crawl.
Carol, Cetaphil is universal choice amongst beauty insiders! I love samples (and you’re right about Crème de Mer)! :)
Great post! Right now I’m testing out a skin care line (Rodan + Fields) that runs $200-300 to review on my blog. I like the products but can’t imagine buying them. Just too darn expensive. Once the products are gone, I’ll go back to my basics (Noxema, toner, moisturizer), but I will invest in a better moisturizer than the L’Oreal I was using before. ;)
Denise, you’re right. Unless you have money to burn, save your sheckles for a fabulous moisturizer/sunscreen. Drugstore the rest of it!
Boy I couldn’t agree more. Teenage girls should read this Vikki.
Thanks, Barb! I see teenage girls dropping all sorts of money on skin care products, and I think “Why??” and “Where the hell are they getting the money?” :)
From their mothers who influence their taste in products. Ya know how many hours I had to babysit to buy a moisturizer?
I wish I had the genes and lived in a place where Cetaphil was adequate. I do believe you get what you pay for to a point because I could see a difference after I stopped using less expensive drug store brands and started using a skin care line developed in Colorado with the dry climate and the air quality in mind. Where I don’t splurge are my color products: drug store all the way!
Laura, I think you should use whatever feels good and whatever you can afford. But if it isn’t an entire line, get the best moisturizer/sunscreen you can, and the rest can be purchased somewhere else. Stay tuned for some color tips! FUN!
Good post. I’ve never worn beauty products. But even I can recognize this as good advice.
Very helpful!!!
Thanks, Roz and Michelle! Love to see you both on my blog! :)
Vikki, what do you think about serums and night creams? You didn’t mention either one.
Rita, I adore them! Serums are little surges of treatment for specific skin woes, and very concentrated, which I love. They can target redness, stress, lines, and everything else that makes us look less than glowing, like nobody’s business. And my skin is extremely dry, so I’m a night cream lover as well! The average non-beauty-product junkie gets skittish when she thinks about “layering” products, or one cream for day and one for night, so I’d always bring those up AFTER she was comfortable and happy with her core routine (if necessary). Thanks for stopping by! :)
Great post, as always, Vikki! I’m a beauty product junkie, so I can talk for weeks on this subject. But I just wanted to add one thing… I would not use a cream with SPF as an eye cream at night. I know from personal experience: I couldn’t figure out why I kept waking up with red, burning eyes. Turns out sunscreen in my face cream was the culprit. A beauty advisor told me to never wear ANY sunscreen at night, but especially eye cream because it’s very irritating. FYI!
Linda, I totally agree! I would never tell a woman to use moisturizer with SPF in it at night, for that reason. I like to keep my posts under 1000 words, so I couldn’t say it all! I’m like you. This is one of my favorite subjects, and I could happily ramble on for days. I just wanted to give some tips on a daily routine to minimalists. :)
You’re fabulous, you know!! This is the most sensible skincare advice I’ve read! Thank you!
Thanks, Roshni! (And you’re quite fabu yourself!) :)
Thanks for this post. I never know where to put my money when it comes to my skin—a dilemma I’ve been in since I was 13! Time to go shopping.
Thanks, Jennifer! Love seeing new people on my blog. Stay tuned for Part II on this one. We’re talking makeup products! :)
What’s Cetaphil? (I live in Israel and we don’t have Costco here). My non-negotiable product is Noxema, and after 35 years (I’m 64), I’m convinced that my glowing, almost wrinkle-free skin owes it all to that terrific cleanser. I’ve rarely used exfoliator; thanks for the tip!
So I don’t have to buy eye cream??? This is HUGE. Eye cream is my weak spot. I have so many issues, dark circles (hereditary plus allergies) and sagging lids and now wrinkles. But if I can spend my money on great face cream and use it on my eyes? *mind blown* And you’ve motivated me to exfoliate more often. I want to hear ALL your wisdom on this subject, I hope you do more of these!