By Sarah – Jane Robinson

Glamorous and glossy they are not, but cheap and trustworthy they are – today the top essential five beauty products that woman claimed to rely on the most, were listed. Four in 10 women over 50 (surveyed by The ) claimed that some of their most trusted beauty products cost less than £5.

• Vaseline Lip Balm, £1
• Neutrogena Anti-Aging Hand Cream, £3.77
• E45 Face Wash, £4.50
• Pond’s Anti-Aging Cream, £4
• Wash & Go Shampoo, £2.30

Vaseline Lip Balm, which topped the all-time list of inexpensive favourites coming in at a mere £1, is a far cry from the shiny goods offered at the top end of the market. It’s therefore a mystery why women fall into the trap of buying over-priced products that do exactly the same job as a £5 purchase. 

Are woman drawn to luxury brands (with super shiny packaging) as a means to upholding an image? Yet, 20 per cent of women say they regret buying these expensive products because they believe the products do not work. Why buy Crème De La Mer’s Moisturising Treatment, at £970 a pot, when we can just pop down to Boots and purchase a tube of E45 Moisturising Cream, for a mere £1.50 that we know to be reliable as it’s highly recommended by doctors?

Pond’s Anti-Aging Cream, at just £4, is used by celeb Kylie Minogue, proving that old favourites continue to be a staple in women’s make-up bags. A favourite of mine always found lurking in the depths of my handbag is the Vaseline Lip Balm. Not only can this miracle product be used for dry lips, but also acts as a moisturiser, eyelash lengthener, a way of taming those unruly eyebrows, cuticle cream and more.

Supermarket chain Aldi not only sells competitively priced food but also delivers well priced beauty products too. Their low-cost premium skin care line ‘Lacura’ includes a range of products all for under £5.99. Their Anti-Aging Multi-Intensive Serum at just £3.49 was awarded the top beauty accolade by Celebs on Sunday readers, beating Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Intensive Serum, which cost approximately five times as much. This clearly shows that low budget and plain packaged beauty products reveal just as good results and offer up to 75% less of the price than many well known beauty brands.

So forget those expensive salary snatching products and save yourself some money and disappointment by sticking to the mass-market, everyday (and sometimes good old fashioned) brands.