Best beauty "product" is lots of water, and good skin cream. I use Colonial Dames and love it.

I have worn Oil of Olay daily moisturizer with SPF 15 for sensitive skin since I was 25. I am very fair and redheaded, and I have very few wrinkles and no age spots, which I attribute to this product. It's less than $10 per bottle and I only use 3-4 bottles per year, even with lots of days when I apply twice due to showering after a workout or super dry air in winter.

I have been using coconut oil for my cuticles since my daughters bought a giant vat of the stuff to use on their hair. I added a little bit of scent and apply it in the evening as I watch TV so I can rub it in well. It feels overly greasy going on, but soaks in soon and my hands are still super soft the next day. It works better than almost anything I've ever tried, and I have tried a lot of cuticle creams. A jar of coconut oil costs about $8 and would be enough for two or three people to have a year's supply for cuticles.

Like maggie, I also meant to include coconut oil, only for hair (so makes sense she uses it on her cuticles!). smooth it into your hair and leave on as long as you can, then wash out. It's great for hair.

What does coconut oil do for your scalp/hair? I'm intrigued!

Wasn't there another thread that talked about coconut oil being great for your face/skin?

With the coconut oil can you link to the one you get or give more info? ( I have seen it in several stores, even the dollar store, so any specifics to the one you love would be great). thank you

I think what will work for you depends on your climate as well. I like coconut oil but it is just too heavy to use during my humid and hot summers

Plus, I think as we get older, we need more help than moisturizing. I use Alpha Hydrox products with glycolic acid. They work well and are very reasonably priced. I use the face wash and change out the moisturizer depending on the time of year.

Glycolic acid info

Alpha Hydrox at Amazon

I've been using the neutrogena night cream since reading about it here over a year ago, I think. Just this past weekend I noticed that an age spot that really used to bother me is gone. My sister and I thought it was funny that we had one in the same spot.... I almost called her to ask where it is so I could verify with certainty that mine truly is gone. :)

I really like Skinn products by Dmitri James. He is a frequent guest/seller on one of the home shopping channels, and as annoying as I find the home shopping channels, I just really like him.

http://www.skinn.com/

It can be a little hard to choose from amongst the many products offered, but right now I am using the BotaniLift line and loving it.

http://www.skinn.com/product-category/skincare/botanilift/

I also wear Skinn's Plasma Fusion Nourishing Serum Foundation, along with several other Skinn makeup products, and it's become a staple for me. (In fact, this reminds me that I need to order some more.)

http://www.skinn.com/product/plasma-fusion-nourishing-serum-foundation/

Seems over the years I've spent an absolute fortune on products that have proven to be wrong for me. I have never felt that about any of the Skinn products, though. To me, that says something.

Vitamin C serum. I used to buy one fluid oz for $75 a bottle. Now I make my own.

I ended up exfoliating by accident when I discovered my wet wake-me-up cold washcloth was doing the trick. When I get my morning coffee I also get a wet washcloth to go over my face several times to help wake up. The cheap, rough ones are the best. I also do my lips.

I'm back to Olay products for skin care. Reginerist works great for wrinkles.

Anyone use The Balm products? All highly rated.

Tinted Moisturizer Love this, but want to find one that's not as pricey.

Lip Stain This is great when I'm doing errands and don't need to get glammed up.

If you go to The Balm's Amazon page you'll see most of their products are 4 stars.

Curel lotion, unscented. I have used this for years and buy the large bottles as I use it all the time. Hands, arms, legs.

Foot Relief (Aveda) foot cream. I just like the way it smells and I swear my feet don't sweat as much.

I started using Intellishade tinted moisturizer by Revision several years ago when my skin care specialist recommended it. Love it. I occasionally wear a bit more coverage at night (Bobbi Brown) when we're going out but not often.

Also Nectifirm by Revision. Really makes a difference in those neck wrinkles.

Bobbi Brown's Soothing Cleaning Oil. It has Kukui Nut, Sunflower, and Olive oils.

RoseAbbey, I've been making vitamin C serum too. What recipe do you use?

Terriks, I am using the 20% strength now , but started with the 5%

5% Serum-1/4 tsp Powder-4 & 3/4 tsp base
10% Serum-1/4 tsp Powder-21/4 tsp base
15% Serum-3/8 tsp Powder-2 1/8 tsp base
20% Serum-1/4 tsp Powder-1 tsp base

the base can be a combination of distilled water and glycerin for dry skin but I just use water. the powder is LAA.

RoseAbbey, what does LAA mean, please. Appreciate you taking the time to post the recipe, but I am new to making my own materials at home, so just don't have a clue what LLA means.

L-ascorbic acid

a tiny bit of vaseline on my lips every night at bedtime- can't sleep without it and my lips are never dry or flaky.

That's pretty much the same recipe that I use. I found it on Reddit. If I want to get fancy I like to use rosewater. I put mine in an opaque spray bottle and use it all over my body. If it's good enough for the aging skin on my face, hopefully it will help the sagging skin on my body.

Olay Regenerist products and Redken #6 to give my hair some body after washing.

I love Urban Decay primer potion for eyelids. If you just put on just a teeny tiny bit, eyeshadow or eyeliner will not smudge or crease at all, for many hours, even in sweaty/humid conditions. I'm on the oily side, and my eye makeup was always smudged or gone after a couple of hours.

I like Redken hair products, and Cetaphil or Aveeno soaps and lotions, and Tarte makeup. And cherry Chapstick :-)

Thanks for the response, RoseAbbey.

Thanks, jlc. I've been needing a good eyelid primer, and thanks to your recommendation I just ordered the Urban Decay.

Benefit POREfessional - it's a primer but I used it after foundation as a pore filler in areas needed. It doesn't eliminate pores but does a good job blurring.

Another shout out for Urban Decay primer. It's hands down the best. Eyeshadow even stays on after sweating from a workout. Of course, I'm not rubbing my eyes.

Aquage Uplifting Foam.

My mom likes Redkin 06 Thickening Lotion.

My hands can easily end up an ugly mess in the colder months. I really like Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream. I buy the fragrance free one.

MAC Beauty Powder. These are very finely milled powders. Some are light- colored and work like a highlighter (although I use it all over), and some are tinted and work like a blush or bronzer. They are usually limited edition. Whatever the color they come out with, I don't care, I buy it. I just love them.

I've been a fan of henna shampoo and conditioner all my life. My current favorite is Shikai brand. All their shampoos are great. I also found that in my older years, something like Pantene age defying shampoo and conditioner actually works to help my thinning hair break less and look fuller.

Urban Decay primer of any kind is amazing. In fact, 80% of my beauty products are UD, the other 20% are a mix of Clinique, Benefit & Aveda.

Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencils are the best I have tried.

I have also recently discovered Laura Mercier eye shadows in a small tube like a mini lipstick? So easy to use and they last, esp. with a bit of eyelid primer first.

Good ol' Maybelline mascara is my favorite, and I've tried the fancy ones -- I always go back to Maybelline.

Similarly, I have tried a lot of foundations and am finding that the older I get, the heavier foundations just make me look older. Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is my daily foundation.

Finally, I had Rx Retin-A and had gotten lazy about using it and just started using it again a couple of weeks ago, and I already can see a subtle improvement in my skin.

Pond's Dry Skin Cream. I've been using it since age 16, with brief forays into other moisturizers, but I keep coming back to the Pond's.

Tibb, i have heard that said about many times that coconut oil has "small molecules," but only in beauty articles or on blogs, and its always repeated. I've never heard a scientist say it so how do we know that is even true?

Many years ago the "best" shampoos contained hydrolyzed animal protein which also supposedly "penetrates the hair shaft." Only ir didn't, and now people dont want animal byproducts in their shampoos and conditioners, so now it is coconut oil.

Most any oil treatment, left on or heat-set, will improve the texture of hair. i think about 99.9% of companies' claims about their beauty products are either outright lies or truth stretched so far it looks like a bad face lift!

I have very curly frizzy hair and am always looking for products to tame it so I can wear it "natural" and not look insane. Lots of the products are too greasy or leave the hair feeling stiff. I recently tried using DOVE Quench moisturizer as a styling aid and am finding it really nice. The hair stays relatively soft, but with decent curl definition. It's also about $5 per tube which will last about a month or so. I wet my hair every day(not really shampooing) in the bath/shower every morning, and then put about a quarter size bit rubbed through my hair, more on ends and underneath. Pretty pleased.Dove Quench Conditioner

J Cosmet Sci. 2003 Mar-Apr;54(2):175-92.

Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage.

Rele AS1, Mohile RB.

Author information

Abstract

Previously published results showed that both in vitro and in vivo coconut oil (CNO) treatments prevented combing damage of various hair types. Using the same methodology, an attempt was made to study the properties of mineral oil and sunflower oil on hair. Mineral oil (MO) was selected because it is extensively used in hair oil formulations in India, because it is non-greasy in nature, and because it is cheaper than vegetable oils like coconut and sunflower oils. The study was extended to sunflower oil (SFO) because it is the second most utilized base oil in the hair oil industry on account of its non-freezing property and its odorlessness at ambient temperature. As the aim was to cover different treatments, and the effect of these treatments on various hair types using the above oils, the number of experiments to be conducted was a very high number and a technique termed as the Taguchi Design of Experimentation was used. The findings clearly indicate the strong impact that coconut oil application has to hair as compared to application of both sunflower and mineral oils. Among three oils, coconut oil was the only oil found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair when used as a pre-wash and post-wash grooming product. Both sunflower and mineral oils do not help at all in reducing the protein loss from hair. This difference in results could arise from the composition of each of these oils. Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft. Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results. In the case of sunflower oil, although it is a triglyceride of linoleic acid, because of its bulky structure due to the presence of double bonds, it does not penetrate the fiber, consequently resulting in no favorable impact on protein loss.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12715094

Sheila, I have very curly hair also. I have been fighting it all my life and have now decided to go full out curly girl. I bought something called Beach Waves at my salon. I spray it on a scrunch my curls as it dries. It really defines the curls and isn't stiff but it is expensive so I am looking for something different.

I have to wash my hair every day because sleeping on my curls flatten them at the sides. I may try just wetting it every other day.

True, a lot of the best products are very spendy. That said, there are several products I swear by after actually trying hard to like the very pricey things my salon or BlueMercury tried to sell me on because I thought they must be better.

Shampoo and Conditioner: V05 Kiwi or Tea therapy (I don't care for the others). It costs 99cents a bottle for each! The only conditioner that comes close to being as good is Kiehls, which cost me $50 (it is a very large size, but still). I have shoulder length fine hair that is highlighted.

Noxzema Cleansing Cream in a pump. Love this stuff, have used it since high school. It is not as thick as the jar stuff. I love the textture and the eucalytpus makes me feel clean without drying my skin too much. I am very happy with my skin and get compliments on it. I have a drawer of Chanel cleansers that I do not care for.

Skin Renew by Garnier, daily moisturizer. I use this every day. It is light, doesn't clog pores, and keeps me from getting flaky even in winter and skiing.

Neutrogena Eye Makeup Remover Pads, Extra Gentle. Love these. Not oily, does the job, does not sting at all. Great for travel since they don't count as a liquid. : )

Blistex Daily conditioning treatment. I use this every day under my lipstick. It also makes my lipliner go on a bit smoother too.

Cover Girl clear gel mascara. I use this on my eyebrows to shape them. Works great.

Maybelline 14-hr lipstick. I usually draw the line at color cosmetics when it comes to bargain hunting. I feel confident that Chanel or MAC or Bobbi Brown don't have any dud colors, the same way I trust Farrow and Ball IYKWIM. However, on a whim, I tried this lipstick. It does a great job of staining your lips.

Purpose Gentle Cleansing Wash cleanser by J&J. Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer. In the summer, CeraVe Sunscreen Face Lotion. Mascara-l'Oreal Voluminous Original (been using for years). Like many, I have tried more expensive and find these more to my liking

Jerseygirl, I love the L'Oreal Voluminous Original in Carbon Black. I like to toss my mascara fairly often, so drugstore prices work for me. I like L'Oreal better than the department store products. I do buy foundation makeup at the dep't store. The drugstore products feels so heavy and don't have a nice finish.

I also love Presige eyeliner pencils, but have not been able to find them in the color I like (sage) recently. I bought one of those self sharpening eyeliners at Sephora and it crumbles when I use it. It also cost twice as much as the Prestige.

Dedtired, I may not toss it as frequently as you but that's one of the perks. It's reasonably priced so you don't mind tossing frequently.

I use Jordana lip and eye liners which I get at a local beauty supply store. I buy Jordana at Cherry Hill Beauty Supply. Their less than $3 and they're retractable which I prefer to regular pencils. I used to buy Chanel and Dior pencils. Not any more. Still like Chanel lipsticks. Something about their hues.