No doubt, as we are approaching the dreaded middle age, things change significantly. Suddenly I see myself contemplating whether LE MER skin cream for many a buckaroo is a good idea.
Seriously.
5 years ago I would have laughed out loud and never spend a second on skincare that cost three figures, but as I approach 40 and things change and I dislike some of the changes, the thought has crossed my mind.
For about two seconds only though. No worries.
I have never been one to go to extremes, but I have also always spent decent money on skincare. Probably because my mom hooked me on Clinique when I was a teenager due to some skin issues. Clinique isn't exactly cheap, but I somehow always stuck with it, even when I was in charge of my own budget in college and Mom didn't pay for clinic anymore.
There was also an Estee Lauder phase in my late 20s, but holy shit, Estee Lauder is expensive, isn't it.
Then I really spend a couple of years absolutely loving Origins. And I still do. It is just that Origins where I live now seems so expensive? In a nutshell, I am always interested in skincare and makeup.
This past fall I encountered some new problems with my skin. Oh wait, other than that my face looks more tired on Thursday than on Monday;) YES. Other problems. Mainly, redness. Yes. I started developing some real redness around my nose area. It was even a bit itchy sometimes, but that could have been just psychological. It truly started looking very odd. I got a bit freaked out and started googling rosacea and eczema and anything else and then realized that I "Ms. Dermatologist" could definitely rule out rosacea, thanks to WebMD. I then started wondering whether I should hit up a dermatologist.
Fast forward December and I am in Germany. My mom sent me to the local pharmacy to pick up some stuff for her and I start looking at the different skincare brands. I told the pharmacist about my self diagnosis and she was all "Hey girl. Get off the ledge. I don't think you need to go the eczema route. You might just have severally permanently dehydrated skin."
Now. Since I do use skincare products religiously, I was all "Yeah, whatever" but the lady loaded me up with samples from a specific brand: La Roche Posay.

This stuff here turns out to be pretty awesome. I have been using it for two months now, usually once per day and I think the pharmacist was right, because the redness is almost gone now!
So, if you can get your hands on this, I totally would. It doesn't break the bank. It is not super cheap, but it is absolutely affordable and definitely worth it (Also hypoallergenic and what not).

Today I stepped it up a nudge and bought this one: Hydraphase UV Riche with SPF 20.
I really test drove the first one and I still have some left, but I need something with SPF and I am really excited to try this and hope it performs as well as the other one.
The reviews for this product are very very good.

And LAST BUT NOT LEAST, I had a great deal from No7 brand today.
A: I had a voucher and B: it's the 3 for 2 sale and since my mother wanted her day and night cream that I hooked her on for Christmas (Super, well done, now I pay for her skincare apparently;), I got this little baby for free as my third item. Brillant and looking forward to trying it out.
The reviews are STELLAR. It is a hydration mask to be used a few times a week or so. Apparently you can also sleep in it. Sounds about right for me, because I am not one to do a mask for 3 minutes.....
All that being said, I guess I am not using one brand for everything like I used to when I was younger. I need to focus on hydrating the shit out of my skin and I totally mix and match stuff up (for example, I also love a Nivea Nigh Cream that I slather on at night, but I am missing my Origins Night-a-Mins and will probably treat myself to that one again soon).
Same with my makeup, which will be a completely different post. :)
Do share what works for you. I am always interested in hearing the products other people use. I suppose I always hope to hear some miracle cure type product :)