L'oreal, Lancome, Shu Uemura, Maybelline

I have no loyalty to any particular brand of make up and have an opportunity to buy some of these products at reduced prices. Can anyone let me know which products they recommend from these companies? I'm still wading my way through products I've bought over the years which are still OK to use. Could definitely do with some good moisturiser & eye cream to cope with all the xmas parties - late nights etc...

maz27, sorry I can't specifically help, and I know this is only sort of relevant but I thought I'd post the following article on moisturisers from the (UK) Daily Mail in case it's of interest to anyone...



The wrinkle creams that only make your cash vanish

by SEAN POULTER Last updated at 07:41am on 14th December 2006



They say you get what you pay for. But those spending hundreds of pounds on the most exclusive anti-wrinkle creams are wasting their money. A study of leading brands reveals none of the supposed magical elixirs make much of a visible difference.


• The skin lotions that definitely aren't worth it

• Women 'waste thousands' in war against the wrinkles


The best turns out to be a mass market cream which costs a fraction of the price of its more expensive rivals, according to U.S. and French consumer groups.


The Olay Regenerist range, which offers a 'regenerating serum' for £16.87, came out best.


In contrast, the La Prairie Cellular range, which can cost as much as £229 for a 30ml pot, was among the least effective.


The American Consumer Union and its French counterpart tested ten of the biggest brands, which consist of a mix of vitamins, proteins and water. All are widely available in Britain. Avon Anew claims it is a breakthrough in 'herbaceutical science', while Lancome says its Renergie range ensures wrinkles are 'slept away' during the night.


Laboratoire La Prairie in Switzerland claims to be the 'the birthplace of extraordinarily effective products that help you manage your skin's aging process beautifully'.


The same mantra is used by other skin cream manufacturers trying to grab a slice of a multi-billion pound market.


But the U.S. consumer union said none of the creams tested produced a dramatic improvement.


It advised that staying out of the sun or using skin products with a high sun protection factor was the best option.


The consumer union said: 'We found that after 12 weeks our toprated products did smooth out some fine lines and wrinkles.'


However, it added: 'Even the best performers reduced the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 per cent, a magnitude of change was, alas, barely visible to the naked eye.


'Moreover, the luxury-priced skincare offerings didn't work any better than the drugstore brands. La Prairie Cellular, the most costly product we tested, was among the least effective.'


Apart from the Olay creams, the union said a product from LancÙme - RÈnergie - and RoC Retinox+ were 'slightly more effective'.


Joining La Prairie at the bottom of the league was another RoC product - Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle cream. The union said: 'Every cream helped at least some of our testers - including the ordinary moisturiser we used as a control.'


But it warned: 'With effects so variable and slight, it was hard for women to judge the performance of the wrinkle creams they tested.'


A high-tech optical device was used to detect changes in wrinkle depth and skin roughness on the women tested, who were aged 30 to 70.


The findings are highly embarrassing for the big names of international beauty, including La Prairie, L'Oreal, Lancome, and RoC.


They will not, however, surprise the British natural beauty guru, Anita Roddick. Six years ago, she dismissed anti-ageing creams as 'pap' and suggested cheap moisturiser would work just as well.


She has since sold her Body Shop retail empire for more than £650 million to L'Oreal, which is one of the leading names in the anti-ageing industry.


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One of the Daily Mail readers who responded to the article said she swears by Nivea, another one said she loves Clarin. My sister will only use Simple. I guess everyone has a favourite that suits them. Personally, I'm still looking for that elusive balm that will fix my many flaws!

Personally I would rather spend reasonable money on a jar of cream or lotion with all natural ingredients.


I refuse to support products with petrochemicals, harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances (perfumes).


You will end up doing more harm than good to your body by putting all the junk on your skin. Don't forget that our skin is porous...that means all those nasty toxic and carcinogenic substances are being absorbed into our system.