Something that I’ve always loved and still do love is trying new products. Maybe it sounds crazy but that’s just always how I’ve been. I remember when my mom would come home with new shampoo and conditioner and or new laundry detergent and it felt like Christmas to me. It’s so lame, I know, but I suppose it’s really the little things in life for me.

Needless to say my love for trying new things has translated into adulthood. Not only do I love searching around stores like Ulta (that place is a trap!) but I love researching online about products even more. With the shift of my financial mindset, I was on the hunt for less expensive, quality products that still got the job done (aka made me feel good whether that was with brighter skin, great smelling hair, etc.). Some of these really fit the bill for me.

Almost everything we buy now (except for food) has some research involved ahead of time. That’s pretty much how I found most of these… By doing research online and reading reviews. I’ve been using all of these products for about a month now so I’m going to rank them highest to lowest from most favored to least favored. Oh and I want to mention before I get into this – I’m no beauty expert. These are just products I decided to try out and my own opinion as to what I think of them.

TruSkin Facial Serum: Out of all of these products this one is definitely my favorite of them all. I have used this every morning and night for the last month and I believe my skin has definitely improved because of it. Not only am I less likely to break out but I also think my skin looks brighter and fresher. This bottle should last me for about 4-6 months if not more and I’ll definitely buy another one after it’s finished. It costs $19.99 for the bottle which means it costs around $3.33-4.99 per month depending on how long it lasts. It’s well worth it in my opinion and much less expensive than the “high end” brands (some are around $100+).

In case I haven’t mentioned this before, my ultimate goal for my skin is to be able to wake up and leave the house for work without doing anything other than put some mascara on. I desire for my skin to look bright, fresh, awake, and clean without having to use any makeup to convey that. That’s just my personal preference and I’ll definitely talk more on this later. Anyway, so far this stuff is really helping me with that which means I spend less time doing my makeup in the morning. Even better, that means I get more sleep or more time with my husband and pup which makes for a happy happy happy Jordan.

How I use it: After washing my face, I’ll put a drop on my forehead, one on each cheek, and two on my neck before gently rubbing/patting it all in. I do this in the morning before I put my makeup on (which you’ll soon learn is very minimal) and in the evening before I go to sleep.

Eye Gel: I searched for a long time to find an eye gel that didn’t break the bank. Some of the eye creams I was looking at were almost $100… What in the world? Does the dang cream make you a sandwich? I’m not about that life one bit. Paying $100 for some cream to go on my eyes seems like a bit much to me let alone $50-60. So of course, I took to Amazon and researched over a couple of days until I decided to try this one. The reviews for this product are really what convinced me to try it out. Maybe I’m naive and they were all Photoshopped but after my own experience I really don’t think they were. Granted, this stuff hasn’t gotten rid of ALL of the dark-ish tones under my eyes but I also haven’t been getting a solid 7 hours of sleep every night so can I really blame that on the product?

I do think it has helped with “fine lines” around my eyes and a good amount of the coloring under them. I still don’t necessarily feel like I look “awake enough” without concealer under my eyes but I do think this is helping. Has it gotten rid of my crows feet? Nah. I smile too much to let that happen. The only thing that would get rid of those most likely is Botox and you can count me OUT.

This eye gel costs $23.95. I can’t really tell how much is left in the container but I do know that I only use a very small amount of it every time. The container doesn’t seem much lighter at all since I got it last month. I’m guessing it will also last me around 6 months which would mean it costs $3.99/month. I will most likely buy this again when I run out. If I don’t, it’s because I really want to try the Advanced Peptides & Collagen Eye Cream by Derma-E.

How I use it: After washing my face, I gently rub a small amount of the gel under and around my eyes. I then proceed with the TruSkin serum. Same as the serum- I use this in both the morning before I put my makeup on and in the evening before I go to sleep.

Another product that has great reviews (even better than the eye gel) is this Baebody Retinol Moisturizer Cream. I’m not on the hunt for a moisturizer right now but if you are I’d look into this one! At $18.95 for the bottle it will cost $3.17-4.73/month.

Trader Joe’s Moisturizing Cream Shave: After seeing some posts about it on Instagram, I found this shaving cream at Trader Joe’s for $3.99 and decided to try it out. It smells great and keeps my skin really smooth when shaving. However, I’ve had some razor burn from time to time when using it. I honestly can’t pinpoint that on the cream though… I’m guessing it was because the water was too cold/hot. My body is really particular when it comes to stupid stuff like that. Overall, I might consider buying it again but this bottle is going to last me so long that I’ll probably get bored of the scent by the time it’s finished.

Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Conditioner: I randomly found this conditioner while browsing through Trader Joe’s. Since I was almost out of conditioner at home and because I love Tea Tree so much, I scooped this up. I’ve mentioned before that I have quite a bit of trouble with my scalp and Tea Tree always seems to relieve any itching, redness, and scaling issues that I have. Some high end shampoos/conditioners can be around $40 for the bottle so I was trying to determine if this was a good alternative. $3.99 versus $40… If this was just as good as its “high end” counterparts I was going to be so thrilled.

Overall, I enjoy using this as my conditioner. I haven’t had any issues with my scalp since I started using it which is a pretty big deal for me. However, it doesn’t smell as strong or make my scalp tingle as much as the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree conditioner does, for example. I can’t say that’s a huge deal breaker for me though considering how inexpensive it is and how my hair feels so soft after I use it.

How I use it: After shampooing my hair, I rub a liberal amount of the conditioner into my scalp and then through the rest of my hair. The directions say to let it sit on the scalp for about 3-5 minutes which is what I do. If I’m using a hair mask that day (also just tried one from Trader Joe’s that’s great), I’ll put the conditioner on my scalp and then run the hair mask through the rest of my hair and leave that on for five minutes before rinsing it out.

Hubble Contacts: This one I was very skeptical of because we had seen an ad for Hubble Contacts while watching TV. I actually had just found out that I was going to need a new contact prescription that would cost $99 a month so when I saw that these were less than a third of the cost, I decided to look into them. They offer a trial period of 15 days for $3 so I figured heck, why not give them a try. These contacts are daily lenses which I have to wear anyway. To much surprise, they were actually way better than I expected. I don’t say that lightly either… I have a lot of trouble with dry eyes and things of that nature. Hence why my normal contacts are so expensive. I do have some moments in these where my eyes feel dry but that’s also usually a great indicator that I need to get away from the computer for a bit. I have a strong feeling I would have those moments wearing the other expensive lens option as well. Anyway, Hubble has been great because it’s a subscription service so I receive a new box of lenses that last the entire month for only $30. I also can pause my subscription at any time in case I don’t need contacts that month. It’s a huge savings for us in the budget and the best part is… I can [comfortably] see! 😉

Let me know if you currently use any of these products or if you decide to try them out! I hope they elevate your life a bit too!

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