Beauty on a budget!

Beauty, Fashion&Style
Meath Chronicle
Are you a believer in you get
what you pay for? Do you think
the more expensive ranges in
all things beautiful are worth
every cent?
Or are you sick and tired off false
promises and would give anything to
find some more cost-effective alternatives
that will do the job just as well,
thank you vary much!
Have you ever suffered buyers remorse
after splurging out on a ‘hope in a
jar’ product only to find it was no different
to anything else...
I sometimes find that I have to curb
that instant gratification to purchase
yet another ‘promise to look 10 years
younger’ night/day cream and walk
away.
I have discovered through my years
of research that there are hundreds of
beauty buys out there that wont cause
your credit card to melt.
Think supermarket girls… How often
have you passed by their ranges while
shopping and dismissed them?
There are tons of cosmetics that are
very easy on the pocket. They wont
have the fancy packaging we see in the
more high end buys but then again they
wont be making the outrageous claims
and promises that those others make. If
every cream I tried/tested had worked
I should look about ten at this stage and
I can assure you I don’t! There are great
value cosmetics of excellent quality lining
the shelves in you local supermarket.
These are keener priced because the
companies that make them are not paying
fortunes for branding
and advertising..
So how do you
know what’s worth
buying and what’s
Maintaining your
beauty on a budget


MAggie GibbonS offers great shopping tips so you get
the best deals on the cosmetics that are kind to your purse
and kind to your skin...
I’ve news for you ladies…It’s all
about the ingredients. So, the one piece
of advice I can offer is check them out..
If you find a something that’s well priced
and does what it says on the tin then buy
and enjoy. The good news is you can
treat yourself without overspending
Here are a list of some of my favourite
budget buys:
SilcockS BaSe: Wonderful as a
cleanser and cheap as chips, about €4
for a huge tub. If you use it with a warm
muslin cloth I reckon it can’t be beaten.
Available in chemists.
aqueouS cream: Again about €4
for the big tub…doubles as cleaner and
moisturizer. Again, your local chemist is
the place to buy.
aldi ciana moiSturizer: Fantastic
value at about €3. This actually came out
as a winner on Gok Wans ‘How To Look
Good Naked’.
aldi lacura: A brilliant range.
Check out their Q10 anti-wrinkle day
cream.
VaSeline roSy lipS: This is such an
affordable, moisturizing little pot. Use it
whenever you like to give that tint of colour
to your lips as well as keeping them
moisturised. Price around €1.75.
niVea: Anything by Nivea, especially
their Q10 range, contains all the ingredients
of the more expensive
products. I particularly love
the Q10 Visage eye cream,
about €10.
Skin WiSdom at teSco:
A lovely range of products
and well priced. The range
is 10 years old this year and
they have introduced loads
of new youth boosters. Loving
it!
There are many ways to
pamper yourself while staying
on a budget. Next time
you want a cream just take
a look at the ingredients in
one of the expensive brands,
then compare them to the
more cost-effective ranges. I
think you will be pleasantly
surprised at the results.
If you buy wisely it will
leave you a few extra euros
to spend on a delicious
fragrance or even a pair of
shoes.
Now there’s a thought!
Maggie Gibbons is an
Image/Style Consultant and
can be contacted on 087 6782406 or at
maggiegibbons@iol.ie

Serum or moisturiser

living @ Meath Chronicle
Health&Style

Idon’t know about you but I
find myself totally confused
when it comes to my skincare
regime. Moisturiser or
serum? Or both?
The beauty aisles are groaning
under the weight of both but
how are we supposed to know
which to choose. Neither comes
cheap and in a time when these
purchases may seem frivolous
we certainly want to buy something
that will do the job.
Taking care of you skin is
important, not just from a vanity
point of view but largely to
protect it from the elements, sun
and wind damage etc.
The main difference apparently is that serum
penetrates deeper than moisturizer. As anti
aging serums may include highly active ingredients
be aware of skin sensitivity. There are a
myriad of products to consider but remember
most expensive doesn’t always mean best.
A moisturizer will not penetrate the skin as
far as a serum will. The main benefit of a facial
serum is that it gets down deeper into your skin
than your moisture cream. Just like the regular
moisturizers there are a massive number of
serums on the market. As you would expect
there is a bewildering choice and you need to
select the most effective one for your particular
skin type.
I recently converted to Vichy Aqualia Thermal
serum and I must say I love its texture.
The serum is silky and absorbs instantly into
the skin. The beauty of this product is that you
don’t need a separate moisturizer, it
actually boosts hydration so is
pretty long lasting. It works
beautifully under make up.
One of the main advantages
of Vichy products is that
they suit sensitive skins, as
well as that they always have
specialists on hand to recommend
the appropriate products
for your particular skin.
Checking the clinical trial data
and customer feedback, results are
very positive. Customers
report great improvements
in skin tone, brightness and
smoothness. Many users
notice an overall reduction
in fine lines and wrinkles.
Vichy Aqualia Thermal
Serum is available in pharmacies
nationwide. It costs
€22 which is a great price.
Boots also do a Protect
and Perfect Intense serum
for €26.95 and L’Oreal
Youth Code costs €37.50.
Sure you will be glowing
in no time!
– Maggie Gibbons