With summer behind us and the cost of living still high, many of us are tightening our belts. When it comes to skin care and cosmetics, I think we could all save our valuable money by not overlooking what you can buy on the high street; especially when you are grocery shopping.

We can now buy our food shopping and skin care products at the same location, saving time and money on travel.

Most skin care ranges – even the budget ones – are manufactured and formulated at the same location as the high-end products. The crucial differences that influence the end price are the packaging, celebrity endorsements and brand names.

Many of us will be tempted by brands promising us miracle results, but while these expensive products most likely do contain more of the crucial ingredients, the difference is often minimal. ‘Dupes’ as they are called are often excellent alternatives at a fraction of the big brand prices.

Let’s explore some high street brands and I am sure you will save money and be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer’s skin care range, Fresh Elements, has very attractive packaging and items start from as little as £8. Their Clarify Refining Overnight Serum contains Mandelic Acid and is perfect to dab on spots, open pores or dreaded blackheads.

For more mature skins, check out their Formula Range. Their Prevent & Brighten Multi Action Retinoid Serum can easily compete with high-end serums and, at the time of writing, was on sale for only £12.50.

Aldi
Aldi’s Lacura® range is always highly rated, very well-priced – often under £5 – and regularly sells out. To avoid disappointment, grab it when you see it in-store. The Hot Cloth Cleanser is popular, as is their Q10 Renew Eye Cream.

Waitrose
Waitrose brought out their skincare range, Pure, a few years ago and it’s still very popular. It’s a vegan range and looks very high-end with simple packaging, despite products starting from a very reasonable £2.50.

Lidl
Not to be outdone, Lidl has their Cien line of back to basics skin care, from cleansers to SPF, and all budget-friendly. The Cien Q10 Day Cream is a steal at £1.49.

Boots
Of course, we probably all know Boots, as it’s located on most high streets. They are especially well-known for their No. 7 range, which always comes out highly rated against more expensive competitors. The Vitamin C Brightening Day Cream with SPF 50 is really hard to beat at just £6.

Expensive packaging and marketing do not always give you the best results. A little trick I have used over the years is to apply an expensive product to one half of my face and neck (never neglect the neck as the skin ages the fastest here) and a lesser priced product to the other half. Take a selfie, give it a fair trial of three to four weeks, and then see if you can notice an obvious difference. If you do, you and your purse will be very happy!