Dollah Is What I Need: Budget Skincare Picks From Caroline Hirons

Caroline Hirons is a woman after my own heart.  Anyone who snorts with derision at the thought of cleansing wipes being Ireland's best selling cleanser and says they should have a "LAZY COW" warning stamped upon the packaging and possibly (I'm adding this bit here myself) a siren and flashing lights going off at the til when you attempt to purchase them, has me at hello.

She also says "knickers" a lot and is so practical and ruthlessly down to earth that she's an absolute howl.

Now she loves premium skincare - but not necessarily that of the big brands with the huge marketing budgets.  If it's style over substance she'll pick it up right away.  She likes clean skincare, hates false claims, reads labels to make informed judgments and tries everything out herself.  Read this post to see how Laura has applied her routine to staggering effect.

Don't feel disheartened and think you can't get started on her routine without remortgaging  the house.  Caroline doesn't pretend that the quantity and quality of the products she uses are within everyone's budget - so there are a few things you can try if you want to make a start with the Hirons regime. And for more tips, see Beauty Call in the Irish Times today (read it here).

CLEANSE

• Always use two cleansers.  The first one should remove all the makeup and grime of the day and Caroline likes Una Brennan SuperFacialist Rose Hydrating Face Oil along with The Body Shop Camomile Oil cleanser.

• The second cleanse will get down into the pores and a balm cleanser works well here.

Now I haven't actually heard this recommendation from Caroline herself, but I know she likes other Soap & Glory products, so I would hazard a guess that she might like Beaut.ie fave Soap and Glory The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser.  She can shoot me if I'm wrong!

• TONE
  L'Oreal Age Perfect Toner for Mature Skin is light, fresh and cheap as.  And no, you don't have to have mature skin to use it.

• OIL/SERUM
  The Body Shop Vitamin E Overnight Serum-in-Oil gets the nod here.  It's light, easily absorbed and contains loads of yammy nutrients for skin to gobble up.

• MOISTURISE
  Good Things Face The Day Moisturiser SPF15 : a  good no nonsense moisturiser for young skin.  Caroline also recommends the clay mask in this range.

So what do you reckon?  And have you got any standout budget skincare picks to add to these ones? And you can read all about when Beaut.ie met Caroline Hirons here.