Cheap and sometimes cheerful...

I think I'm poorer at the moment than I have ever been in my adult life, but I have to admit, it's my own fault. I've supported myself (and then myself and Noodles) for many years, but six years living with a partner and having a ton of newly disposable income turned me into a profligate spendthrift. Since he moved out in May, I've been trying to get back into the habit of being responsible, and it's hard! Hopefully by the end of the year I'll be back on track, but for now one of my strategies is to drastically reduce the amount of money I fritter away on expensive vanity products. To that end, when I ran out of a few products last month, I decided that instead of stocking up on pricy cleaning oils, Clinique facial wash, and L'Occitane hand cream, I'd have a crack at the supermarket shelves. The results have been... hit and miss.

Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash
I like to use foaming cleansers in the shower in the mornings just to refresh my face and cleanse off any overnight grime. I usually use Clinique Liquid Facial Soap, but even on Strawberrynet that goes for about $30, whereas the Olay Gentle Foaming Face Wash cost me about $9AUD in Safeway (or Woolworths as they call it here in Adelaide - should be called Safeway though). It's a very unexciting product - fragrance free, boring packaging - but it does what I wanted it to do, which is cleanse and refresh my face without drying it out. I think I will continue to buy this - a third of the price of my usual morning cleanser is okay by me!

L'Oreal Gentle Make-Up Remover for Eyes and Lips
I received this free in my recent L'Oreal haul, and all I can say is WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE? I love this - it removes all of my makeup without stinging my eyes, and without me having to scrub away at my skin. It is a bit oily - and I've read a few complaints about that in various reviews, but I always cleanse after with a cream cleanser (Clarins Cleansing Milk), so I don't care about that. It's one of those Bi Facil products with the two separate parts, and you shake it up before you use it. I think it's about $12AUD, and you can get it from Priceline and supermarkets.

Garnier Skin Naturals Clean Sensitive 2 in 1 Waterproof Make-Up Remover
Another Bi Facil product you shake before using. Unfortunately, this one isn't anywhere near as effective as the L'Oreal one. I had to rub quite a bit to get makeup off, and even then I still had a lot of residue coming off when I did the second cleanse with my cream cleanser. I don't think this is a very good makeup remover at all, and certainly not for sensitive skin because you have to really work to get it off and that could only be irritating for you delicate flowers. It's about $10 in Woolworths; I wouldn't buy it again.

Vaseline Healthy Hand and Nail Conditioning Hand Lotion
Ugh. When it comes to hand cream, you really do get what you pay for. When I was in Woolworths buying these cheapies, I was actually looking for that Nivea Q10 anti-ageing hand cream, which I think is about $10-$12. It's not great, but it's okay. However, there was barely anything - bit slack on restocking the shelves there Woolies! - so I pretty much had to get what was available, which was this. It was about $4, I think. It's terrible. My hands are pretty trashed from constant washing - years and years of working in public contact have turned me into a bit of a germophobe. This hand lotion does absolutely nothing to moisturise them. In this instance I am definitely going back to the more expensive products, and I hope it's not too late to undo some of the damage!