How you choose to spend your money is such a personal thing, some people love their designer clothes, others like to spend their money on exotic travel.

For me I have always liked spending my money on my make up and skin care. Fashions change but well looked after skin never goes out of style. 

I like my skincare expensive and high end but like most of us this isn't something I can afford all the time. Instead I compromise and mix in lower end products with my more expensive ones.

Whilst I 100% agree with Caroline Hirons that there is no such thing as a dupe in skincare (you often get what you pay for in terms of research and ingredients) that doesn't mean that there aren't great products to be found at the more affordable level. This is more true of some brands than others.

When we started saving to buy our house I had to cut all unnecessary spending and that my meant I couldn't afford to replace some of my high end favourites when they ran out.

I started trying more affordable alternatives and have found some excellent products that I had never tried before, including this wonderful Burt's Bees oil.

Starting off with the more expensive of the two though:

Tata Harpers Nourishing Oil Cleanser - £68.00

There's no getting away from the fact the price tag for this is eye watering. So much so I'm not sure I will ever be able to replace it when it runs out.

This cleansing oil though is beautiful and it smells divine and I like to imagine I am at an expensive spa. I feel so calm and relaxed when I use this (which admittedly is sparingly because it's so expensive). It leaves skin incredibly soft and clean.

I use this morning or evening but I have to admit I have only ever used this as a second cleanse. 

While I am sure this would effortlessly remove make up I do not want to waste it on that and prefer to use other (cheaper) products for that task. 

It is very gentle and I imagine it would work well for almost everyone. 

I save this oil for when I need a mood lift or my skin is in need of rescuing and luckily a little goes a long way!

Burt's Bees Facial Cleansing Oil - £16.99

The Burt's Bees cleaning oil is significantly more affordable than the Tata Harper version and as a result I use it far more often.

I have used this product to remove make up and it takes even waterproof eye make up off effortlessly. It's also wonderful in the morning or as a second cleanse.

Like the Tata Harper oil this leaves skin soft and is incredibly gentle. Because its an oil you do not get the uncomfortable 'tight' feeling that other cleansers can cause.  

You only need two to three pumps of this to remove a whole face of make up so it lasts a long time.

Despite it's cheaper price tag this still smells and feels lovely (although not quite as lovely as the Tata Harper one). 

The Burt's Bees oil is definitely more of the workhorse in my collection and I have recommended it to several people.

Although it isn't exactly cheap at £17 it is frequently on offer and is far easier to get hold of than the Tata Harper oil.

Overall verdict?

Although I adore the Tata Harper oil I'm not sure that it's cost can be justified when the Burt's Bees version performs as well and costs a fraction of the price. 

If you have the budget then definitely treat yourself to the Tata Harper oil as it is wonderful but for the rest of us the Burt's Bees one does the same job and is much kinder to your wallet. 

Have you ever tried either of these? Or do you have an even cheaper alternative than the Burt's Bees version? Let me know in the comments!

Clinique Take the Day off Range

I've spoken about it a lot on this blog but Clinique have to be one of my favourite brands. I like that their products are a mid price point and that they do what they say on the tin with no fuss.

While I don't love all of their products, my favourite range of theirs has to be the least glamorous: the Take the Day off range.

Let's face it, taking your make up off isn't exciting and is at a best a mildly annoying chore. But for those of us that are lazy when it comes to face washing, then the Take the Day off products are life changing.

There is a product for every need, they don't contain any fragrance, don't irritate my eyes and most importantly? They work. 

They last for ages and although they aren't the cheapest in the world, I've found them to perform either as well or better than more expensive alternatives.

On top of all of this, I love the packaging. While it is most importantly functional and practical I really like the purple and silver theme, which makes it seem a lot more luxurious than the price suggests.

Even the make up wipes from this range are pretty good. I haven't included them in this post because I don't use make up wipes as part of my usual routine, but as far as make up wipes go, they are the best I've ever tried.

As a disclaimer, this post is not in anyway sponsored, I just really love this range!

1. Take the Day off Cleansing Balm

If you buy one thing from this range, make sure it is this. I've had my tub of it for YEARS and use it frequently. I've just purchased my first replacement, so that should give you some idea as to how cost effective this product is. You only need a small amount but it is always my weapon of choice for dealing with the thickest of make up. Particularly gel eyeliner and waterproof mascara as it just melts these away.

Like most cleansing balms this has a solid texture that melts into an oil when you massage it into the skin and then remove with a damp flannel. As with all Clinique products this does not contain any fragrance and I find that this makes it exceptionally gentle, particularly on the eyes. I always use this as a first cleanse to remove makeup and it's so simple and fuss free I even manage to use it after a night out.

If my skin isn't looking so great, I revert to using this daily because I know it will remove every last scrap of make up. Just try it, you won't regret it. 

2. Take the Day off Cleansing Oil

This is my most recent addition to my collection but it is already a firm favourite. I prefer to use oil based cleansers to remove my make up and like the cleansing balm, I only ever use this as a first cleanse to remove makeup. It is actually remarkably similar to the melted texture of the balm, which is probably why I like it so much. It removes make up easily and doesn't sting my very sensitive eyes. You only need a small amount for it to do an effective job.

Do you need this and the cleansing balm? Probably not, one or the other would be fine. I just wanted to give it a try mostly and I am as equally impressed with it as I am with my beloved cleansing balm.

The only downside to this product (as opposed to the cleansing balm) is that a liquid oil is messier to apply and riskier to travel with. Although the pump has a locking feature, I would make sure to pack it very carefully as I once had a very big mess (and a lot of product wasted) with the cream version of this product which has an identical pump.

3. Take the Day off Cleansing Lotion

This is the cream cleanser in the collection and was the first part of the range that I had ever tried. It's also by far the most versatile product in the range. I use this as  a first, second  and morning cleanse depending on my mood, how my skin feels and how much make up I am wearing. You can also take this product off using cotton wool instead of a damp flannel. While I always prefer to wash my face with actual water there are times when this isn't practical and this can be a good alternative to the dreaded make up wipe.

While this does remove make up well, it doesn't melt make up off like the balm and the oil do, so I tend to use this as a first cleanse on lighter makeup. It will take eye make up off but it isn't as effective as the other products so I tend to use a separate eye make up remover if I'm going to use this as a first cleanse. The lotion texture is extremely soothing so I often use this as a second cleanse after using the oil or balm if I've been wearing a lot of make up.I also reach for it a lot if my skin is being problematic or feeling irritated.

Will I repurchase this when I finally use it up? Probably. I do love it, but I also have a lot of other cream or lotion style cleansers that cost less but none of them are as effective at actually removing make up. I tend to use other ones for strictly second or morning cleaners whereas this is a jack of all trades.

As mentioned above, though, I am super careful when I travel with it now after it exploded all over my bag despite having the pump locked. Just something to bear in mind.

4. Take the Day off Eye Make Up Remover

I bought this after receiving so many samples of this during bonus times and loving them. I always try to save the sample size ones for traveling so having the full size is great. I've tried many of the two phase style eye make up removers that need to be shaken and this is one of the few that I actually like.

The oil part of this actually does melt eye make up off just like the cleansing balm/oil does which makes it perfect for traveling or situations where removing make up properly is difficult.

Like all the other products in the range, a little goes a long way and I find it cuts through even my Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner (by far my hardest eye make up to remove) with ease. It also does not irritate my eyes which many dedicated eye make up removers do.

It is also excellent for removing lipstick. Particularly matte red lipstick which always stains every little crevice of your lips so you look like an extra in a low budget vampire film the next day. This product though melts it off without you having to resort to scrubbing your lips.

The good thing is if you time your Clinique purchases right you can almost always pick things up during bonus time and chances are a little bottle of this will likely be in there, so you can try it for free. 

Have you tried any of the Take the Day off Range? Which one is your favourite?