Beauty on a Budget: Face Creme

Hello lovelies! So, we all know skin care is incredibly important. Aside from drinking lots of water (or diet coke), getting enough sleep (whenever possible...), and washing our face every night (just do it!), we rely on face cremes to keep our skin moisturized and glowing. Beauty companies know this, and put a confusing number of expensive items out in the market to prey on our desire to stay youthful and attractive. Exhibit A:

Creme de la Mer is a "luxurious" moisturizing cream available at high end department stores like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. 1 oz of La Mer retails at...drum roll please... $170! Ingredients include seaweed extract, mineral oil, vaseline, glycerin, plant oils and seeds, minerals, vitamins, and thickeners. Umm, excuse me, but what about any of those ingredients costs that much money?! Enter exhibit B:

Nivea Creme is a German moisturizer available at nearly every grocery and drug store, and costs under a dollar an ounce! Like La Mer, Nivea also contains mineral oil, vaseline, glycerin, vitamins, and thickeners. While Nivea is lacking in the additionally added antioxidants, it is unclear as to whether they are still effective after the packaging and shipping of the product. Nivea is also missing the seaweed extract, which is said to emit lactic acid that exfoliates the skin. Since I live so close to the ocean, do you think I can just grab a few pieces, or nah? ;) I just really have a hard time imagining how this product can be $169x better.

Once I started using Nivea as a nightly moisturizer, I really could not believe how different my skin was looking. I was waking up with glowing skin, and found the lines on my forehead and around my eyes to be less noticeable!

Pro tip: Nivea is incredibly thick, let the heat of your skin soften it before attempting to rub in. It is also incredibly water resistant, so make sure your face is completely dry before rubbing in! Believe me, it is a pain.

When applying, I start by putting dots on "trouble" areas (around my mouth, between my eyebrows, at the corners of my eyes, and in the middle of my forehead) and rubbing in from there.

What moisturizers and skin care products do you swear by? Leave a comment below and let me know!
xo Sydney