8 Leading Skincare Brands In the USA: A Blog Extra

Photo: Dreamtime

After finishing my 5-blog series on what skincare travelers would find in the pharmacies of 10 countries around the world, I thought my international readers might ask what skincare brands are popular in the USA?

When I wrote the 5 blogs in our series, I listed 5 of the most popular, best-selling skincare brands in each country featured. It's all done for fun. Truthfully, if publishing a book that one gets paid to write, a journalist would have to apply even more scrutiny to verify each entry by contacting a ton of primary sources, which I couldn't do for a personal blog. Perhaps the journalist would also visit the countries to do in-person research with funds provided by her employer, ahh, even more fun! My blogs come from reading a bunch of mostly secondary sources, deciding which are credible, and drawing from the consensus of what I find. It gives us a start and an introduction to the skincare of the 10 countries I featured.

So without further ado, our extra 11th country!🇺🇸

In American skincare, we hear the word efficacy spoken a lot. It means the ingredients are high-performing and in the right amounts to deliver the promised results. Retinol, retinal, retin-A (tretinoin), bakuchiol, peptides, vitamin C, niacinamide, and ceramides are some of the ingredients in top US skincare products with efficacy to moisturize and treat the signs of aging.

For US brands, I have two lists -- 1st I'll focus on knowing ...

5 Leading Skincare Brands Popular in the USA

1) CeraVe was developed by dermatologists containing ceramides to strengthen and protect the skin barrier. Super affordable, some of its formulas also have retinol for night and vitamin C serum with or without sunscreen for day.

2) La Poche-Posey is made in France (so I put it on France's 5 top skincare products since it is manufactured and popular in France).

3) Neutrogena offers science-based anti-aging products that target anti-aging, hydration, and acne issues. Its formulas are developed and tested in a laboratory and sold in drugstores. Its popular Rapid Wrinkle Repair cream contains retinol, hyaluronic acid, and glycerin but is free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde-releasing agents, benzoyl peroxide, parabens, and mineral oil. 

4) SkinCeuticals is often recommended by dermatologists as having clinical strength ingredients like vitamins C, E, B5, and Ferulic Acid. The brand is luxury priced to boot.

5) The Ordinary continues to be manufactured in Canada, so I grouped it with Canada’s skincare. I made the assumption that because of its budget-friendly price points, it is popular in Canada, as it is in the United States.

 

I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ↑above list. Why??? France’s La Poche-Posey and Canada's The Ordinary may be widely used in the USA, but we can’t claim them as US Skincare, so I did more reading. ↓Below is a 2nd list to reflect this:

5 Top Skincare Brands Manufactured and Popular in the USA are:

1) SkinCeuticals, as already stated, is science-based, antioxidant-rich skincare (often produced by L'Oréal USA, a fact I didn’t know). A double lister!

2) Estée Lauder, founded in 1946, specializes in luxury skincare. Today, it is the umbrella company of many other skincare brands, not only luxury brands. (See my info re: The Ordinary* to follow.) Estèe Lauder now owns MAC, Revlon, Bobbi Brown, Tom Ford, Clinique, Darphin, Too Face, La Mer, Origins, Deciem* (bought in 2021), and The Ordinary* (bought in 2024) + other brands. The woman who started the company was born Josephine Esther Mentzer in 1908, yet reinvented herself. She was the only woman on TIME magazine’s 1998 list of the 20 most influential entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

 
3) SkinMedica is a medical-grade brand focused on anti-aging formulas. This is a new brand to me! I’ve never used it.

4) CeraVe's formulas contain ceramides to protect the skin barrier, as mentioned in list 1. Often it is cited as America’s #1 bestselling skincare. I love the popular and bestselling CeraVe Moisturizing Cream for the Face and Body! A 2nd double lister!

5) EltaMD is known mostly for its professional-grade and lightweight sunscreen, yet it offers other skincare. A pity its superior sunscreen at $41 for 1.7 ounces is so expensive, the sun protection isn’t accessible for us common folk to use daily! Let them eat cake, eh?

Other key US brands are Aveeno and Cetaphil (the latter is another drugstore brand developed by dermatologists). I buy and like both brands for their hand and body moisturizing creams.

I have the benefit of in-person research in the US, and yes, both lists seem correct, or in the words of the late great Executive Editor, Ben Bradley of the respected Washington Post during his tenure (1968 - 1991), of getting at "the best obtainable version of the truth.”:)  

As it happens, Estée Lauder acquired  The Ordinary* by 2024, adding it to its portfolio of brands. This explains why this Canadian brand is on the 1st US skincare list. I love The Ordinary’s many products and am only too happy to add to its American success! I hope Estée Lauder doesn’t change the company (its philosophy, formulas, or price points) for the sake of profits! Critics accuse EL of buying and then running MAC (also Two Face, another of its acquired companies) into the ground by weakening the pigments in MAC lipsticks while simultaneously raising the retail price of the lipsticks. Let’s hold our collective breath for The Ordinary!🙏

The skincare brands I buy repeatedly are CeraVe (my overall favorite moisturizer - clean, thick, and never greasy), The Ordinary (for serum treatments, especially Retinol and Retinal), Neutrogena (Rapid Wrinkle Repair, Sunscreen), and Cetaphil (Moisturizing cream with glycerin, Vitamins B3 and B5).

Here’s a little insight into how the beauty industry works:

Today, Cetaphil products are primarily manufactured in Canada, specifically at a major Galderma plant in Baie-d'Urfé, Québec, which serves as a global supply hub. While the brand was originally developed in the USA in 1947, it is now owned by Galderma, a Swiss company. Making my 11-county skincare lists, at times, I had to split a few hairs. Cetaphil was created in an American lab, is widely available in US drugstores, remains a bestseller, and is widely used by Americans, so I grouped it as a US skincare brand. Moreover, once a skincare brand becomes part of a conglomerate, users should stay alert to notice any changes in formulas over time.

What skincare brands do you use where you live?

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 1
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 2
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 3
10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 4

10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 5

🦘🐨🪃🦜

Australia’s🇦🇺 skincare brands focus on clean, natural, gentle ingredients along with sun protection. Australians live closer to the sun and receive up to 15% more solar UV rays than Europeans. Daily sunscreen use is vital to prevent skin cancer.

Below are 5 Top Australian Skincare Brands found in Aussie pharmacies:

1) Go-To Skincare is known for its simple, effective,

 skincare to nourish and protect the skin. 

2) Alpha-H is famous for its Liquid Gold, a powerful glycolic acid exfoliating treatment.

3) Ultra Violette is a leader in SPF sun protection for the face and body.

4) Lanolips uses sustainable, natural lanolin to make super-hydrating lip, hand, and body balms, such as its popular 101 Ointment.

5) Frank Body gained cult status with its coffee scrubs and has a full range of uncomplicated, natural body and skincare products that use coffee as a main ingredient.

Other key brands include: Naked Sundays, QV Skincare, Bondi Sands, Grown Alchemist, and Rationale.

🍀🍀🍀🏰 ☘️☘️☘️

The skincare of Ireland🇮🇪 centers on local organic seaweed, botanicals, and sustainable practices. Products are developed to treat sensitive skin, anti-aging, and natural wellness.

Ireland’s 5 Top Skincare Brands popular with locals are:

1) Pestle & Mortar (Co. Kildare) goes by the names Codex Beauty and Bia. Natural extracts and active ingredients go into making its skincare.

2) Collection (Co. Cork) formulates organic, scientifically backed hydration for sensitive skin.

3) Green Angel (Co. Dublin) contains organic seaweed harvested from the west coast of Ireland.

4) Kinvara Skincare makes vegan and plant-based, natural products.

5) Seabody is a luxury skincare brand that uses sustainably sourced seaweed from the Atlantic coastline.

Other key brands include: Ground Wellbeing, Dublin Herbalists, Nunaia Beauty, and Skingredients.

With Ireland, our 10th featured country, we complete our series of 50 top skincare brands used by the natives of each country. Whose skincare would you most like to try?

Update: As an afterthought, I wrote an extra blog for my international readers who wish to know what leading skincare brands they’d find in US drugstores. Publishing on Monday!

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10 Leading Skincare Brands In Foreign Pharmacies - Part 1

Browsing in international pharmacies is fun! Let’s begin a series of 5 blogs, each blog featuring 2 countries, listing the 5 leading or top brands of skincare that are popular with the locals in that country:

Great Britain🇬🇧 likes to blend botanicals with science in its formulas. The UK beauty industry centers on high-performance and anti-aging ingredients. 

5 Top British Brands are:

1) Elemis is a leader in luxury skincare. The Liberty Beauty Calendar always includes its items. Best sellers are its cleansing balms and anti-aging serums.

2) Medik8 is a science-led skincare line for anti-aging items. It is known for its Vitamin C lotions and sunscreen for day and Vitamin A potions at night.

3) Pai Skincare targets sensitive and acne-prone skin with remedies.

4) Osia is a luxury brand offering formulas that support the cellular health of the skin.

5) BYOMA is an affordable brand containing ceramides to moisturize and protect the skin barrier.

Other key bands include UpCircle, Ren Clean Skincare, and Evolve Beauty.

Canada🇨🇦 is known for its high-quality ingredients and innovations in skincare.

♥The Ordinary, called the disruptor in the beauty industry for its science-based, affordable skincare, was founded in Toronto, Canada, in 2016 by Brandon Truaxe, so I’m placing it before Canada's list as an extra, though I didn’t see it listed in any of my research! Due to its low price point, it’s widely used in the USA, and I bet in Canada too.♥

Five of Canada’s Top Skincare Brands used by Canadians follow:

1) Skinfix is known for its barrier-repairing moisturizers and lotions.

2) Three Ships Beauty offers plant-based skincare with 100% clean ingredients found in nature.

3) Reversa treats anti-aging with ingredients like glycolic acid at prices that won’t empty a wallet.

4) Province Apothecary uses certified organic ingredients in its entire line for a clean beauty routine.

5) Sahajan combines traditional Ayurvedic practices with modern science in its skincare.

Other key brands include Graydon Skincare, Nudestix, and Rocky Mountain Soup.

After you are introduced to 50 new skincare brands found in foreign pharmacies, you'll be familiar with them should they land in the aisles at T.J. Maxx, which, due to its amazing buyers, often happens.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 - 5 of our series on THE SAVVY SHOPPER.

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Instytutrum Swiss Skincare

Instytutrum has branded itself Result-Driven Skincare. It was founded in 2014 by Dr. Natalia Derkach who teamed up with Swiss laboratory scientists -- skincare veterans with 30 years of skin research experience -- to develop professional in-office strength skincare to be used at home. The beauty company strives to be a skincare disruptor offering innovative formulas and performance-driven actives such as retinol, hydrators, and peptides.

Instyturum's Founder and CEO

Its full line of professional-grade skincare products contain ingredients that are clean, cruelty-free, and next-generation actives backed by clinically proven efficacy.

 A main objective of Instytutrum is to teach and advise clients about effective home skincare. Free online or telephone consultations and skincare advice from a team of skin experts are offered to anyone interested in receiving it by going to its website or calling an 800 number listed on the website.

Additionally, type the words: skincare or anti-aging in THE SAVVY SHOPPER'S search box to learn about skincare ingredients and effective brands to put on your radar.

Instytutrum is more expensive than drugstore anti-aging beauty brands but it contains ingredients that leading dermatologists recommend and celebrity clientele like Kristen Bell and Gabrielle Union buy. It's worth examining the ingredients in the brand and comparing them with similar products to increase your overall knowledge about what works to maintain and treat your skin. 

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Kind Science By Ellen DeGeneres

Kind Science By Ellen DeGeneres is a skincare line we often see advertised on television. Two questions come to mind: (1) Are the products effective, and (2) Are they good value for the money? Here are my thoughts ...

It depends on how much you know about anti-aging skincare. If you know nothing or very little about skincare ingredients the $49 introductory kit is worth buying. The products are effective, based on science, and are paired to be used together so you won't cancel out the benefits of one elixir with another. The price isn't outlandish for the kit of 4 products. Yes, I know 6 products are offered, but I wouldn't buy a kit to get a free brush or skin oil. It's nice for the company to include them, however, consumers should focus on the 4 essential potions to determine the value of the kit. Those are the ones you'll need to keep buying as they do the anti-aging heavy lifting.

Also keep in mind that when buying the kit, you won't get full sized products, but are paying less then you will to rebuy them in bigger sizes.

So what are we getting for our $49? Reduced sizes of:

1) Gentle Cleanser - 1.5 fl oz/44 ml - Enriched with skin-brightening vitamin C from Kakadu plum, soothing chamomile and green tea (green tea is one source of antioxidants).

2) Micro Exfoliant+ - 0.75 fl oz/22 ml - A face mask that contains volcanic sand and bamboo silk to polish and soften the skin. Its alpha-hydroxy acids brighten the skin and remove dead skin cells.

3) Firming Serum - 0.34 fl oz/10 ml - The main ingredients are bakuchiol (a retinol alternative) and peptides (short chains of amino acids) to smooth the skin.

4) Hydration Cream - 0.5 fl oz014 ml - Has snow mushroom to hydrate, omega-rich sea buckthorn (a source of antioxidants; doesn't grow in the sea) and our retinol alternative bakuchiol.

5) Free Gift: FacialCleansing Brush

6) Free Gift: Radiance Oil 05 fl oz/14 ml - It's mainly sunflower, apricot and jojoba oils with bakuchiol as one of its very last ingredients.

So now I'll find you alternative full sized skincare for less which may source cheaper ingredients that still give you the same anti-aging benefits as the more expensive components. Budget friendly skincare that is based on science can be just as effective as their costly cousins with fancy rarer ingredients that do essentially the same things. 

My skincare picks are:

For Gentle Cleanser:

1) Vanicream Sensitive Skin Cleanser; or Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser; or CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser; or Equate Gentle Skin Cleanser.

To Micro Exfoliate:

3) Cetaphil Extra Gentle Daily Scrub; Alaparte Green Tangerine Vitamin C Face Scrub; Trilogy Vitamin C Microdermabrasion with AHAs (aka Alpha-hydroxy acids).

For Firming Cream:

3) IMAGINE Dermatology Beyond Retinol which is bakuchiol. Since the main ingredient in the Kind Science Firming Serum is bakuchiol, you could buy either a bakuchiol serum or cream. I recommend the IMAGINE brand’s full range of products! (See my review here.) Its Anti Wrinkle Renewal Cream is a close match for the Kind Science Firming Cream for a lot less moola! 

For Hydrating Cream:

4) Neutrogena Hydro Boost; Olay Age Defying Renewal Cream is only one formula choice of many in the Olay line of moisturizers. e.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream;  Vanicream Daily Facial Moisturizer; Cetaphil Deep Hydration Healthy Glow Cream. There are so many excellent hydrating/anti-aging creams at the drugstore they are too numerous to list. You can't go wrong with CereVe, L'Oreal, No7, Curology, Get-Dreamy, or ROC either! Choice galore at wayyyy under $20 a jar! The first ingredient of most if not all hydrating creams is hyaluronic acid (HA). It’s a naturally occurring substance in the body, found in the skin, eyes and joints. It’s main job is to bind with water, holding up to 1,000 times its weight in water. As we age, HA production lessens leading to dryer less elastic skin and joint issues. A good moisturizing cream will have HA as one of its 1st ingredients. Moisturize your face to look 5 years younger! Instantly, boom!

For a Cleansing Brush

5) Washcloths are never abrasive and easier to sanitize than cleansing brushes because they can be machine washed and dried after each use! Scrubbing the skin with a brush is totally unnecessary, often even damaging to the skin.

For Radiant Oil:

6) Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Rosehip Scented Therapy Oil for Face (Rosehip is a source of vitamin C which is an antioxidant). Good Molecules Niacinamide Face Serum (Niacinamide is vitamin B3. It calms the skin and increases hydration). Sky Organics Jojoba Oil to Balance and Hydrate Face and Body.

Conclusion: Kind Science is effective skincare backed by science. It's pricey if used daily, but if you need more budget-friendly skincare you'll find equally effective skincare sold in drugstores. These brands employ scientists and dermatologists to formulate their skincare and can go toe to toe with designer and celebrity higher priced skincare.

Lastly, Korean Beauty is also great quality and quantity for the money. Nowadays drugstores, Walmart and Target carry it. (Next week, I’ll highlight an anti-aging Korean Beauty serum to put on your radar ... for its stellar ingredients, quantity and price! Watch for it to be published!)

Great skincare need not break the bank, but can be found at every price point! I’ll leave you some links below to learn more about what ingredients to look for in effective skincare.

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Skincare Holiday Gifts Everybody Will Love

Ho, ho, ho! Hard to believe the holiday season is here, isn't it? Let's consider the beauty mavens on your shopping list. A good skincare gift can be either an introduction to a stellar new brand or something extra for a friend who already has the knowledge and skincare basics. If your giftees use Retin-A or
its non-prescription derivative retinol (for nighttime), and perhaps vitamin C (in the mornings), they have an excellent anti-aging skincare routine even if they do nothing else. Other products may do good things for the skin, but they are less essential. Dermatologists call Retin-A or retinol the gold standard in anti-aging skincare. THE SAVVY SHOPPER has written a number of blogs explaining and recommending good retinol and you can use the search box to pull them up to read if you wish.

Today I'll feature skincare extras to give as holiday gifts that go beyond the basics. Sometimes it takes a friend's holiday gift to either introduce you to an unfamiliar brand or spoil you with ingredients you're not using -- the skincare extras - that provide additional skin benefits. They include:

1) The Ordinary Hyaluronic acid 2% + Vitamin B5 (see top image👆) - Hyaluronic acid moisturizes dry skin and Vitamin B5 helps the skin attract and maintain moisture. As we age our skin gets drier so keeping skin moist and dewy instantly makes us look younger ... and it feels better too.

2) The Ordinary Niacinamide (B3) 10% + Zinc 1% - Reinforces and balances the skin's protective barrier. Also treats acne by unclogging pores and drying oils and pimple-causing components.

3) The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution - Promotes mild exfoliation to correct dullness, uneven skin tone, or textual irregularities. Also contains skin-loving ingredients, such as Tasmanian pepperberry, aloe vera, and ginseng root to soothe, balance, and hydrate the skin. Amino acids are added to support the skin barrier. I'm surprised at how often YouTube dermatologists recommend glycolic acid + exfoliating the skin, a practice I rarely do. It speeds up skin turnover to promote new skin cells to rise to the surface.

The Ordinary is offering a 23% discount on their entire skincare line through December 23, 2022, on top of their already high quality and low prices.

The last two gift ideas are Korean skin barrier-protecting face creams. The Korean market excels at making beauty serums and creams. The following skin moisturizers will check Old Man Winter:⛄

4) Etude House Soon Jung Hydro Barrier Cream - Is packed with lipids and fatty acids to strengthen and protect your skin barrier, including “Panthensoside”: Panthenol (Protection of skin barrier & maintenance of hydration) + Madecassoside (Soothing effect for irritated skin).

5) Pyunkang Yul Intensive Repair Cream - Contains ceramides, shea butter, macadamia seed oil, and antioxidants to protect the skin barrier and smooth the skin.

Extra find: Bakuchiol (a phytoretinol). A good one is IMGN Beyond Retinol🎄🎄🎄 

This year make your beauty gifts count! Think quality, not quantity! Frequently beauty sets come with items nobody uses like bubble baths. Instead consider giving a skin elixir backed by science that really works, or an introduction to a fabulous beauty brand your friend or family member doesn't know about. A new discovery is exciting ... and how thoughtful of you to share your tips in the form of a gift!

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Photo: Minimalist

A savvy shopper needs to have a selection of brands to get the best value on skincare. Feel free to enter the words "skincare," "serum," and "anti-aging" in the blog's search box on the upper left to learn about some amazing brands that like today's featured line focus on efficacy, transparency, and affordability.

The Mininalist is a high-performance skincare brand with an array of cleansers, serums, moisturizers, and sunscreen based on science to address a range of skin concerns. The company was launched by 2 brothers (one a scientist, the other with a business background) in October 2020 to make low-cost skincare available in India because, at the time, The Ordinary (launched in August 2016) wasn't on shelves in India. Today both brands sell in both India and the USA, so everybody wins! The consumer has choices galore! Mohit Yadav is the CEO and co-founder with Unilever as an investor.

Although the Minimalist is not The Ordinary and The Ordinary is not the Mininalist, here's what they have in common: Clean packaging, transparent information, and ingredients that are scientifically formulated at rock-bottom prices -- all fantastic! While many consumers can get all their skincare needs met with products developed solely by The Ordinary or solely by the Minimalist, the Mininalist is especially good at offering a wide range of chemical peels and sun protection. If you have acne or rosacea, you'll have a greater selection of treatments from the Mininalist. An emphasis on treating acne explains why the Minimalist offers more chemical peels than The Ordinary. There's also better sunscreen at the Mininalist possibly because the company started in India, a continent where the population needs good sun protection.

The more knowledgeable you become about skincare ingredients and what you want your skincare to do, your appreciation for companies like the Mininalist and The Ordinary grows. Initially, it might seem confusing and like lots of work to learn about what ingredients to buy, but after you do the research to know, you know.

Moreover, sometimes the two companies pair or combine ingredients differently, and I think this also gives customers a greater chance to personalize their skincare. So for consumers, it's awesome to have not one, but two companies with stellar ingredients for less on the market! Hats off to The Ordinary for changing the skin suspension game, as well as, to the Mininalist for expanding it!🎩

2 Conversions: Retinol --> Retinaldehyde --> Retinoic Acid

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8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend

Photo: Adobe

Through experience, you inevitably learn about skin care products like which ingredients really work, and which knockoffs, identical to their more costly name-brand counterparts, to buy.

Here's what I now use every day in my skincare routine, as well as, for my senior mother whose skin still feels baby soft. I like to pamper her with mild, good clean ingredients to keep her skin healthy and moisturized. I've reviewed the following beauty items in prior blogs, so if you wish to know why they're good for your skin click on their links for a description and list of ingredients. Today's blog will try to save you a few bucks when purchasing them:

8 Skincare Products I Use Daily And Highly Recommend:

 

1) SheaMoisture Soap(s) - to wash with during a shower. T.J. Maxx often carries the bars at $3.99/bar.

2) Noxema Cleansing Cream - to wash my face before bed. I also use it to soothe my mom's dry skin where she needs it, such as her arms. Alternatively, I love the face washes from CeraVe and Cetaphil, as well as, their Walmart Equate knockoffs. Walmart also has a Noxema dupe only for in-store pickup. However, Noxema, the name brand, usually selling at under $5, is cheap enough.

3) Coconut Oil - I buy food-grade coconut oil often from Puritan's Pride, to use as after-bath oil to lock in moisture. The reason for the food-grade coconut oil is to simplify my life and not have to buy 2 different coconut oils. {The same applies to white vinegar for cleaning my home. I buy food-grade, not cleaning-grade white vinegar which lies in the cleaning products aisle of supermarkets. When cheap enough, reduce to one multi-tasking product you have to stock. Saves time! Looks like Puritan's Pride no longer sells what I use, so here's another good online retailer. Costs: $6 - $10 for 16 oz.

If I need extra moisturizers in the fall and winter to slatter on dry skin, I add the following to my skincare routine --

4) Equate Moisturizing Cream (a dupe for CeraVe) - Cost: $10

5) Equate Beauty Gentle Skin Cream with Long-Lasting Moisture (the dupe for Cetaphil). - Cost: $6.40. Cetaphil is a tad thicker than CeraVe. Both knockoffs are excellent, plus they work wonders in moisturizing your face, so mild, light, and absorbent that you can skip buying a separate face moisturizer.

6) Target's Up and Up or Walmart's Equate Baby Powder - We use it after bathing and I often apply a sprinkle with a makeup brush to my face to prevent a shiny complexion. Real face powder has a finer texture, than the cornstarch ingredient in baby powder, but baby powder with cornstarch is still a super substitute. Talic (a finer grain) in body power has been removed in the USA. Price: $2.99 for 22 ounces.

7) Daytime: I use Equate Beauty All Day Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion for Skin, Broad Spectrum SPF 15. (the dupe for Olay Complete Daily Moisturizer for Sensitive Skin, SPF 15). I'll use whatever I can get, for normal or sensitive skin. You'll pay about $4

8) Nighttime: I apply Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair - I use the cream formula but have also tried the serum. If only buying one of these, get the cream. Cost: $16 at T.J. Maxx or $13 - $16 on eBay. $25 regular retail price.

By learning what's in skincare products, and focusing on key effective ingredients supported by science, you can find knockoffs for less. Look in health food stores, small batch-start-up companies, and drugstores that offer both name brands that go on sale, as well as, drugstore dupes to lower the costs of your everyday skincare. Toss in Equate (from Walmart) and Up and Up (Target's store brand).

We're talking about effective, clean, high-caliber skincare for less. Skincare without compromise you can afford to use 365 days of the year without going broke! You are welcome.

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