17+ Affordable Skincare Products for Beginners

This is such a great affordable skincare product for your routine because it can be used to remove makeup or as a general cleanser. It can also be used in a wet or dry application, so you don’t necessarily have to wet your face first.

I absolutely love using this to take off makeup after a full day. It’s pretty gentle but gets everything to truly glide off.

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This skincare product is an absolute necessity if you have any acne because it has salicylic acid in its formula. It’s a super gentle cleanser and a little definitely goes a long way, making it a super affordable skincare product!

It’s also super pretty to use because the liquid is a pretty blue that matches the cleanser bottle!

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This is another super gentle cleanser that’s perfect for an affordable skincare routine but I would suggest this one if you are simply maintaining your skin, with some hydration needed.

For a while (before all this mask-wearing), my skin had been doing really well. I had very few breakouts, acne spots, or any other issues. All I needed was a daily cleanser with some hydration. If you’re in a similar spot with your skin, then this CeraVe cleanser is perfect for simply maintaining your skin in good shape.

I bought these on a whim and I am so glad I did! They’ve helped me cut down on at least one section of my makeup spending.

Using these cotton rounds gives me a cleaner feeling than if I were just using my fingers to wash my face. In addition to using them with cleansers, they also come in handy with applying toner and removing makeup.

Pixi Glow Tonic

The Pixi Glow Tonic was my first toner that I tried and it has been a staple ever since. I literally gifted them to my sisters once Christmas because I thought it was *that* amazing.

The Pixi Glow Tonic is a great exfoliating and smoothing toner that comes with 5% glycolic acid. I really noticed that it helped reduce my breakouts while also smoothing my skin texture. It’s a great general toner to use.

Pixi Retinol Tonic

I got the Pixi Retinol as part of a sale or something like that. I didn’t know much about retinol when I did, but I’m so glad to have it now. Retinol helps to reduce fine lines and smooth your complexion but I’ve also noticed a huge improvement in the overall look of my pores, especially in areas where I had some scarring from breakouts when I was younger.

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This CeraVe lotion is an amazing skincare product for beginners, especially if you have heavily textured skin. This lotion helps to, as the name says, smooth out those rough skin areas, like maybe the back of your arms, or any other textured areas.

Combine this lotion with the Pixi Glow Tonic for the best smooth skin!

I got my hands on a sample of this Neutrogena moisturizer and it was amazing for my skin. It’s got hyaluronic acid which attracts moisture and helps hydrate your skin just that little bit more. There are even mini sizes available so you can try it and make sure it works for your skin before buying a larger size.

I started using it after I moved to Maine and my skin was having a hard time adjusting to the harsh winter. I also got the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Overnight Mask and the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating 100% Hydrogel Mask and I HIGHLY recommend both. That Maine winter was harsh on my skin and these products turned my skin around in just a few days.

Again, the Maine winter is harsh on the skin. And when it’s your body’s first-ever winter with freezing temperatures and constant snow weather? Yeah, it has a hard time adjusting after Charlotte’s mild temperatures. The day after I flew into Maine, it snowed several inches. And just a few days after that I could tell my skin was suffering.

Thankfully, I had a Target nearby and I grabbed a travel size of Jergen’s Ultra Healing lotion. I put it on every morning and evening and in the middle of the day if I could. It’s got a thicker consistency that helps hydrate your face. It helped reduce cracks in my skin, especially around my nose.

So, if you need some major hydration ASAP, I highly recommend this affordable lotion plus the Neutrogena overnight mask mentioned above.

This is Flamingo lotion is my current obsession. An absolute hidden gem. I don’t even want to share about it here because it’s too good.

I no longer deal with harsh Maine winters, just occasional snow days in Maryland so I no longer require constant thick lotions. Instead, I’d been looking for a good daily moisturizer, and this more than fits the bill since it’s such a great affordable skincare product!

The Flamingo Daily Moisturizing Lotion is a genius combination of ingredients. It’s a fantastic daily lotion, not only for your face but also for your body. The best part? Squalene, shea butter, and white willow bark are some of the ingredients. This means that not only are you hydrating your skin but your skin texture also smooths over time!

It’s a perfect after-shower lotion, and then you can wake up with smooth AF skin!

This Bliss whipped face mask is the perfect partner to a good bath or relaxing self-care day. It provides a great refreshing feeling after you take it off. It’s also a super cute pink color that you can see in the picture!

The marshmallow mask provides some really great hydration to your skin, as well as a bit of microdermabrasion scrub.

For a spa night or a refreshing bath, this mask is the perfect choice as an affordable skincare product!

I’ve used this Bliss Pore Patrol face scrub for a few years and it’s such a great basic scrub to have around. It’s gentle enough to use daily but it definitely helps to smooth out your skin and get a deeper clean.

The warming aspect of it is super nice and spa-like when you’re using the scrub, another perfect affordable skincare product for a relaxing bath!

This was a lifesaver when I first started using a mask when I went back to work. I began experiencing some maskne and it was so hard to have to deal with strong acne for the first time since puberty! Using this Pixi pHenomenal Gel every morning before wearing a mask and every evening after cleansing helped in decreasing my overall maskne.

Make sure you allow the gel to dry before wearing a mask so extra moisture isn’t building up underneath the mask or the gel isn’t being rubbed off.

With all the maskne I’ve been having, I’ve developed a few dark spots. While the Pixi toners were working well, there was one spot that was being stubborn and wasn’t going away as easily as others. I stopped by Sephora and picked up the mini version of this Murad dark spot serum. It’s only been a few days of using this serum in the evening and that stubborn dark spot has already faded to almost nothing. I had a few other dark spots that were lightening up with the Pixi toners but faded more quickly with this Murad serum.

A little bit of this serum goes a long way so I would highly recommend starting with the mini size, especially if you’ve only got a few dark spot areas. Though a bit more expensive than some of the other skincare products on this page, it’s worth the money.

Laneige Good Night Kit includes a Water Sleeping Mask Mini and a Lip Sleeping Mask Mini in Berry. Get a similar hydration kit from Amazon.

I got this kit as a free birthday gift from Sephora and it was worth it! I’ve previously gotten a larger size of the lip sleeping mask and it’s kind of intimidating to have to use it within two years to finish it before the expiration date!

Instead, I would suggest that you get this skincare product kit and use this mini lip sleeping mask. This lip mask is perfect if you have dry lips or very textured lips. After using it a few times in a row to get rid of any texture, you can then space it out and use it more as maintenance for soft lips.

The mini water sleeping mask is a great way to test if this works for your skin. It’s also a really good way to strongly hydrate your skin overnight, especially during a dry winter season.

I received a sample of the Aveeno Protect & Hydrate sunscreen line and it was a really great combo of moisturizer and sunscreen.

If you’re looking to simplify your morning routine, this Aveeno Protect & Hydrate sunscreen could be a great way to both moisturize and protect your skin all in one step.