Skincare: Where to Save and Where to Splurge?

Skincare is a powerful tool, that can keep skin healthy, make you look younger and make you feel great (of course, I am biased, since I am obsessed with cosmetics chemistry, and think skincare is that important). But it can be really confusing for a lot of people. You hope that spending 200$ on a moisturizer will do overnight miracle. But there is only so much that skincare can do. You can not completely erase wrinkles or fade severe hyper-pigmentation. You have to be realistic. Also there is not one miracle secret ingredient, there are multiple great ones that do work to some extent (and most of them are not that expensive). That's why, in my opinion, no skincare product is worth over 50-70$. And even that I would spend only on extremely "loaded" well formulated serum or prescription treatment. These days a lot of affordable brands produce amazing products, and anyone can afford at least the bare minimum. So where to put your money in? I am evaluating categories of products based on what realistically they can do for the skin and what kind of ingredients can be there.

Cleansers/Face Washes

Definitely do not spend too much money here. As much as I love watching UK skin guru Caroline Hirons, I have to disagree that 70$ cleanser can do wonders for the skin. Realistically, all cleansers are mostly different kind of detergents in water or oil base. Doesn't matter in what form they come (gel, cream, foam), their goal is to remove make-up, dirt and excess oils. Even if they do have antioxidants and such, there is just not enough time for them to work. And moreover, it will be damaging to leave any cleanser on the skin for more than few minutes. Save your money, and buy a really good serum. Also a lot of high-end companies charge for "designer" fragrance in their products (you basically pay for the scent, not quality of the product). There is no secret technology, that can make expensive cleanser better than a drugstore one. I would say 5-20$ is a good price range for a cleanser.

Hypothetically  Speaking: Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream

I've decided to start a new series of reviews of the products I haven't bought per se, but I've looked into ingredient lists and do want to talk about those products. Mostly that would be "not worth buying" type of reviews, that I really want to get out there.

This review features a new Garnier anti-aging anti-fatigue night cream. I've come across this sample in a magazine. I am saying right away, this is not a good product, and I do not recommend wasting your money on it.

Review & Comparison: Kiss My Face Face Factor SPF 30 vs Sensitive Side 3in1 SPF 30

Let me introduce one of the best sunscreen bargains I've found on the market. They are Kiss My Face sunscreen lotions with SPF 30. These products have outstanding ingredients, formulated without irritants and also fragrance free. Both retails for ~11-13$ at most healthy food stores and on IHERB.com. I use one for my face (Face Factor SPF 30) and the other one for my neck and chest (Sensitive Side SPF 30). There are two minor differences. First, Sensitive Side sunscreen comes with more product for the same price (118ml/4fl.oz vs 59ml/2fl.oz), so I prefer to use it on the larger areas. Second, it also features antioxidants a bit lower on the ingredient list than Face Factor lotion (so better one goes on the face). Other than that, they are both amazing products. 

A little bit about the company. It has "natural/organic" marketing approach, though they do use scientific research to formulate their products. So to speak, the best of both worlds. I wouldn't say all of their products are that well formulated, but they do have some outstanding products. They do not test on animals or have animal related ingredients. So for those of you who are concerned, they are cruelty free company.

Kiss My Face Face Factor SPF 30

Ingredients:

 

Algenist Retinol Firming and Lifting Serum

Packaging/Pricing: 

I have nothing against the packaging, which is an opaque pump bottle (the picture above depicts a sample bottle). However, the price is really outrageous. 30ml (1fl.oz) retails for 98$ at Sephora. There is no skincare product in my opinion, that is worth that kind of money. There is limit to what skincare can actually do. My threshold is around 60$. Anything above that you better save towards something like corrective cosmetic procedures.

Ingredients:

Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Pentylene Glycol, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Algae Exopolysaccharides, Retinol, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Ceramide 3, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Squalane, Sodium PCA, Caprylyl Glycol, Polysorbate 60, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Polysorbate 20, Dimethicone PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Sorbitan Laurate, Cetyl Palmitate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Whey Protein, Carbomer, Lactic Acid, Sorbitan Isostearate, Lactose, Disodium EDTA, Trideceth-6 Phosphate, Sodium Hydroxide, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, Mica, CI77891. 

Excellent (only beneficial ingredients, proven research)

Good (mostly beneficial, not extensive research or just not quite outstanding properties)

OK (mostly thickeners, emulsifiers, mild preservatives, pH adjusters, all that is necessary, but not a skincare per se) 

Bad (irritants and anything bad that shouldn't be in a skincare, usually fragrance)

Ingredients Discussion:

 

Lily of the Desert Aloe 80 Skin Soothing Aloe Gel

Today's review is not about a skin care product, but rather about medicinal cabinet inhabitant. Something you can apply on irritated skin, especially after sunburn. I think many people keep aloe vera gel for that purpose. To my dismay a lot of aloe vera gels feature high concentration of alcohol, which paired with irritated skin makes matters much worse. So after some research I've decided to purchase product from Lily of the Desert, their Aloe 80 Skin Soothing Gel.