Products I Almost Never Splurge On

Inspired by Connie’s post, I thought I’d share some of my products which I almost never splurge on. Sure, there’s the economy downturn, and we’re all looking at areas to trim our spending, and that’s a wise move. Regardless, these are some of the items that I do not think is necessary to spend a lot of money on.

20090918 Save Money

SKINCARE

Facial cleanser & scrub
I’m a firm believer that anything that is washed off my skin within 30 seconds of application, it’s not worth splurging on. Of course, that does not mean I get any old bars of soap I can get my hands on. I use Cetaphil, which is cheap as chips. As a scrub, I use Biore’s Detoxify Daily Scrub. These are gentle on the skin, and do the job well.

Facial mask
I tend to use higher end clay or microdermabrasion masks, but when it comes to cloth masks, I just get mine from drugstores or beauty specialist stores like Sasa.

Sunscreen
The first sunscreen I used was Clinique, but that doesn’t count as a splurge item, because my mum gave me one of her half-used tubes 😛 I used Shiseido Anessa for the next couple of years, but only found it to be so-so. After that I only used sunscreens by L’oreal, Paula’s Choice and until a week ago, Neutrogena. I found these to fare much better on my skin. Thank goodness for that, because ka-ching! Money saved.

MAKEUP

Lipsticks
Maybelline produces great lipsticks, and to date, I still think that the Watershine lipstick range is my absolute favourite of lipsticks.

Lipbalms
I remember splurging almost RM300 for a lipbalm from Kanebo years ago (ouch), when afer a while, I realised that it was just bloody Vaseline, just slightly runnier. Dammit. My favourite lipbalms are from Softlips, Khiel’s and C.O Bigelow. I toss a Softlips lipbalm in almost every bag and drawer in the house, just in case I need to use one.

Mascaras
I’ve tried expensive mascaras from Dior, Clinique, etc, and honestly, I didn’t find them to be more superior than drugstore ones. I simply adore my mascara from Majolica Majorca, and it doesn’t cost much.

Eyeliners
For some reason, I’ve never been able to fork out a lot of money for pencils and ink. The Loreal HIP cream eyeliners are fantastic, and so are the ones by Bloop. I recently fell in love with Bloom Shadow Liners, and I’ve since purchased three of them.

HAIRCARE PRODUCTS
Many years ago, I thought it would be better for my coarse, dry and damaged hair if I were to use salon products. For a while, I used Senscience, TiGi and Schwarzkopf haircare products. It was only until about a couple of years ago that I realised drugstore brands like Sunsilk and Pantene did a better job with caring for my hair than the other products did. Even the el-cheapo leave-in conditioner by Sunsilk is great stuff.

BODYCARE PRODUCTS
Once in a while, I’d splurge on a luxury body wash item. I would only use it once every week or two, especially when I’m feeling low and need a pick-me-up. Most of the time, Johnson’s body wash works just fine (smells mmmmm too). As for body lotion and creams, I only buy ONE luxury tub of body moisturiser a year, which would last me all winter. The rest of the time, I use either Cetaphil or St Ives body lotions. I use drugstore sunscreens too, e.g. Cancer Council Australia, and recently found and love, Neutrogena.

So there you go, just some items I save money on. There are items which I just don’t go cheap on, e.g. serum, moisturiser, foundation, etc, but for the rest, drugstore brands more than suffice. There’s a reason why I rake up so much Priceline points in a quarter, y’know 😉

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11 comments… add one
  1. beetrice

    that I can believe!! 😀 but then again, I’m still just as broke…simply because now I’m not spending on quality, but QUANTITY! LOL…you would not imagine how many bottles of “value buy” products I’ve accumulated… :O

  2. Paris B

    I never save on sunscreen 🙂 I do however, save on facial cleansers, body washes, shampoo and conditioner. For everything else, I’m prepared to splurge… but within reason 😀

  3. Nikki

    Great post…come to think of it, I never save on facial cleansers, moisturizers and foundation. Anything that covers all my face! 🙂 For shampoo and conditioner, I was a cheapo but now I’m splurging so much for it because of my long hair 🙁

  4. geekchic

    Sei lor. I’m quite the opposite la. I know I do splurge on body wash. See, hor, there’s a logic behind it. Sometimes, I get home from work and i feel like complete $h|+, a good body washsimply melts the day away. I’ve used a Ren body wash before (was a gift) and then I splurged on a Loccitane almond body wash. LOVE. And I’ve an Aesop one which is citrusy and will be lovely in summer <3

  5. Catherine

    Thanks for sharing these! I do splurge a bit on my cleanser/scrub (handmade on Etsy) – but only because I’m allergic to so many!! I do totally agree with you though – no need to spend tons of money on something that’s only going to be washed off!

  6. Helly

    I’ve beeennn soo happy ever since they introduced (like finally…about time after 10 yearss!!) the drytouch range from neutrogena but i heard from some other blogs that it clogged so i craved in and bought the anessa pearly one lol.

    hope to hear your review soon though! hehe save some $$!

  7. Eru

    This post is so helpful!! I always save on bodycare products too. But I don’t agree on the hair part, my experience is that my hair responds better to salon products. That’s only my own experience, though. 🙂

  8. abby

    Ah I do love posts like these. Makes you think about what is important.

    I splurge mostly on moisturizers and makeup. Recently splurged a little on a body scrub and exfoliator from Kiehl’s but I love them so they are justified purchases I suppose.

    Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, facial cleanser…i don’t splurge on. Does Rosken count as a splurge? Haha…guessing not so that means body lotions too.

  9. Jyoan

    Me too. I really don’t see the difference between TBS body wash, Olay Total 7 Effects Shea Body Butter, and my now favourite Palmolive Thermal Spa with Clay beads, which I got at a discount, just $4-5.

    And I totally don’t see the reason behind splurging on eyebrow pencils. For eyeliner, I just need one that is easy to apply and stays on like glue, which is Maybelline Gel Liner.

    However, for skincare, even cleansers, I am a bit more careful, as I am sensitive to too many things. As most readily off-the-shelves brands, I can’t use.

  10. Connie

    glad I inspired!

    I cannot imagine my skin without Cetaphil….

  11. random newbie

    hey just wondering if the Neutrogena Dry Touch Sun Screen . is used on hand/body parts or face?

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