I’ve been every iteration of beauty journalist, from gullible, wide-eyed ingenue who believed every product would change her skin if not her entire life, to sceptical veteran who knows what works and what doesn’t through decades of trial and error and learning how to sort the marketing myths from fact-based formulations. After more than 30 years in the business, here are what I call my beauty non-negotiables. They are all reasonably affordable, because one thing I have learnt over the years is that expensive beauty buys are pretty much an indulgence and never a necessity.
Gentle gel cleanser
BUDGET
CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser (£18.50; boots.com)
Super-size this stuff and stick it in your shower for the whole family to use from top to toe. Formulated with the help of US dermatologists, it gently cleanses and never strips even sensitive skin, is perfect for shaving underarms and bikini lines, and works for teenagers and men. It is a cult buy for good reason.
LUXE
Fresh Soy Face Cleanser (from £15; spacenk.com)
The original amino acid cleanser, this smells like a cucumber-rich Pimm’s, glides on to dissolve make-up and leaves skin clean and cool and soft to touch. This is the smaller 50ml travel size, so it does go up to £62 to super-size in the shower but remember that it is a treat.
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Creamy rinse-off cleanser
BUDGET
The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser (£11.10; boots.com)
The Ordinary brought affordable effective skincare to us all and is back on top form with this perfect cleanser. It wipes away make-up and rinses away to leave skin clean but hydrated and gently moisturised. Perfect for dry, sensitive skin like mine.
LUXE
Curél Makeup Cleansing Gel (£14.50; boots.com)
Says it’s a gel, but it’s really more of an oil/gel hybrid that melts away make-up at night and then emulsifies to a milky rinse-off lotion. Perfection in every way. Use with a microfibre cloth to get the most out of its make-up melting properties. P.S. You will notice that I simply cannot bring myself to recommend any cleanser that costs more than £20 — sorry, but they are all daylight robbery.
Nice-to-use SPF
BUDGET
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Bioré Aqua Rich UV Watery Essence UVA & UVB SPF50 (£15.99; superdrug.com)
This should replace your daily moisturiser, no arguments necessary. It feels and performs like a superhydrating but light moisturiser, sits perfectly under make-up and, as every dermatologist will tell you, the best SPF is the one you wear every day. This makes using SPF a pleasure, I promise.
LUXE
La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMune 400 SPF50+ (£21.50; boots.com)
Cutting-edge sun filter technology, proven to protect against a broader range of damaging UVA rays (the ones that cause the signs of sun ageing). Developed after years of research by the scientists at L’Oréal, this sets the new standard for sun filters and is a superlight emulsion that men and teenagers will love too.
Vital vitamin C serum
BUDGET
Geek & Gorgeous C-Glow (£9.95; geekandgorgeous.com)
This is a brilliant budget vitamin C serum to use every day first thing after cleansing. The 15 per cent vitamin C will not just brighten skin and tackle uneven pigmentation, but it also boosts the effect of your SPF and helps to supply skin with the vitamins it needs to build new collagen to keep skin plump.
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LUXE
Skinceuticals CE Ferulic (£129.99 on offer; facethefuture.co.uk)
OK, so here’s the thing: this is one of a very, very few products I recommend that costs a lot. The reason is because it is the original, well researched and proven to work, vitamin C serum. In other words, it’s the OG that you know delivers.
Nightly wonder serum
BUDGET
The Ordinary Retinal 0.2% Emulsion (£15.20; theordinary.com)
If you want a single active ingredient proven to work on your skin at night it’s vitamin A and this is the best-value, strongest form on the high street (any stronger and you’re looking at a prescription from a dermatologist). This feels superlight, is the signature bright yellow of the active retinaldehyde vitamin A and, trust me, it’s powerful. Even I peeled slightly a few days after first using (and I am a toughened and seasoned retinal user). This is a gamechanger for the high street.
LUXE
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Medik8 Crystal Retinal 20 (£99; medik8.com)
And here it is, the other expensive product I recommend. This is the designer version of the cream above and, while it is the same strength, it is larger and, I believe, slightly more gentle on the skin. Again, it’s a gold-standard retinoid and your best bet for reversing the signs of sun damage.
Acid body lotion
BUDGET
The Inkey List PHA Exfoliating and Hydrating Body Water Cream (£13; uk.theinkeylist.com)
This has supergentle polyhydroxy acid so packs an exfoliating punch if slept in overnight (just as with the luxe version below). However, this is very lightweight so works just as well worn during the day to give dry skin an instant hit of serum-like moisture.
LUXE
Ameliorate Transforming Body Lotion (£24; lookfantastic.com)
My all-time favourite body lotion. Rich in gently exfoliating but hydrating lactic acid, this stuff transforms skin while you sleep to treat dry knees and elbows, lizard legs, even ingrown hairs and uneven skin tone and texture. This will tackle keratosis pilaris, those tiny red chicken skin bumps on the back of arms and legs too.
Hair repair mask
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BUDGET
L’Oréal Paris Elvive Hydra Hyaluronic 72H Mask (£3.99; boots.com)
Honestly, this entire range is brilliant for dry, fine, prone-to-frizz hair and it comes from the same labs as L’Oréal Professionnel and Kérastase Redken, so you know they share technology.
LUXE
Aussie SOS Supercharged Moisture Hair Mask (£7.99; boots.com)
A great conditioner to leave in the shower for use by every member of the family. OK, it smells a touch Haribo, but it works just as well as any salon hair mask at a fraction of the price. I know it seems strange to choose something so reasonably priced for a luxe item, but I use a mask every time I shampoo and, after decades of testing, I think the high-street ones perform as well as the salon ones.
Brilliant shine serum
BUDGET
Tresemmé Lamellar Shine Cream Serum (£7; boots.com)
This hair serum delivers shine on a budget and has a complementary shampoo and conditioner. It’s the perfect leave-in styling, protecting and finishing product for damaged hair that lacks definition and shine.
LUXE
Philip Kingsley Finishing Touch Polishing Serum (£25; philipkingsley.co.uk)
A classic multipurpose hair serum that can be applied post-shampoo, pre-blowdry or after styling to smooth, add shine and gloss and control frizz and flyways. This is also great for errant hairs when wearing a ponytail, topknot or bun in summer.
Exfoliating foot cream
BUDGET
Fixology Cracked Heel AHA & 25% Urea Foot Balm (£9.99; boots.com)
This is a new balm guaranteed to get your feet into sandal shape pretty damned quickly. Sleep in it at night, wear a pair of cotton trainer socks over the top, then gently pumice your heels in the shower the next day. It’s the 25 per cent urea that works to both hydrate and exfoliate over the course of a week if worn every night for seven days.
LUXE
Beauty Pie Footopia Super Softening Foot & Heel Cream (£25 non-members, £8 members; beautypie.com)
There’s no denying this looks and feels more luxe, and it’s packed with great hydrating exfoliating actives that mean it’s worth splashing out on. Beauty Pie is a members’ club but is offering free 60-day membership, so now’s the time to test out some of the cult, direct-from-the-manufacturers, discounted products. P.S. Its One Powder Wonder pressed powder is second to none (£38 for non-members/£17 for members).
Spray-on body sun filter
BUDGET
Garnier Ambre Solaire SPF50+ Sensitive Advanced Invisible Protection Mist (£8.50; sainsburys.com)
I know it’s contentious because you need to spray each section of body skin at least three times to cover it adequately, but it’s just so much easier to spray yourself, your partner, your kids and your back than it is to rub in some gunky cream. Garnier does the best budget sprays around.
LUXE
Eucerin Transparent Dry Touch Sun Spray SPF50 (£22; lookfantastic.com)
Again, a reasonably priced and superlight spray-on lotion that’s great for sticky, sweaty, sunny days. It’s water-resistant and non-greasy so is ideal for anyone prone to SPF cream breakouts in hotter climes. You can spray this on and get dressed in minutes.
The ultimate detangler
LUXE
Manta Original hairbrush (£30; mantahair.com)
This is the detangling brush if you have damaged, fine or frazzled hair. It’s the most gentle I have ever tried and those Dragons’ Den mentors missed out when they lost the chance to invest in this (just as they did with Tangle Teezer). No other brush comes close, so no other brush, budget or otherwise, is included.
Find @nadinebaggott on Instagram and YouTube where she will answer all your beauty questions
