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I’ll let you into a secret. Beauty editors’ pages and influencers’ feeds are dominated by bougie beauty brands because their large marketing budgets mean they can afford to ply journalists and content creators with products.
So you, the reader/viewer/consumer, could well deduce that lower-cost ranges are less worthy of attention. I have, in the past, been guilty of wearing luxury-brand blinkers, dazzled by pretty packaging and hyperbolic press releases. But decades of trialling formulas has taught me that cost-conscious skincare can often equal its pricier rivals. And I’m delighted to spotlight five excellent new product ranges, with every product under £30.
OG ingredient-led, budget skincare brands The Ordinary and Inkey have been joined by Dose (launched last year). In the past few months Boost Lab, Anua, Keats and Modern Chemistry have also set up shop. The last one, a new line from Boots, is science-led and results-driven. But with its top price point currently just £15, can it really deliver? Dr Pam Green, technical director of Boots Brand is (predictably) emphatic that it does. She says Boots can offer this range at such affordable prices’ because it’s gone ‘in-house for our expertise’. And they operate at scale. ‘We are able to launch the brand into hundreds of stores.’

Dose uses the opposite tack to keep costs down, selling only online. ‘We don’t wholesale,’ says the brand’s co-founder and pharmacist Shabir Daya, ‘as the margin required for that doesn’t align with our pricing model.’
Nor does the brand spend on elaborate packaging, ad campaigns or celebrity endorsements, focusing instead on ‘well-researched ingredients and thoughtful formulations’.
I ask dermatologist Dr Justine Kluk, who runs her own clinic and writes the excellent newsletter Skin Confidence (drjustinekluk.com/newsletter), if she believes you can get effective skincare for under £30. ‘It might not feel quite as indulgent to use, but if you care more about results than the aesthetics of your bathroom shelf, it can be a smart way to reduce your skincare spend. I often think that if you put CeraVe lotion in a fancy bottle, you’d believe it was a luxury product.’ Kluk says consistent use of an affordable product will ‘give better results than something expensive you only use now and then’.
Her own favourites? ‘Garnier Vitamin C Daily UV Glow SPF 50, [£12.99, lookfantastic.com], which gives a lovely bronzed sheen, evens my complexion and often means that I don’t bother with make-up. CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser [£12.50, lookfantastic.com] and The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser [from £8.30, theordinary.com] are superb creamy options that are gentle and well suited to most skin types. And a moisturiser like the Eucerin Urea Repair Face Cream [£14.50, lookfantastic.com] holds its own against much costlier products.’
Validated. Here are some great new skincare steals.
Dose, £15-£22
AHA/BHA Daily Toner (£20, victoriahealth.com), the brand’s latest launch, brightens skin and unclogs pores.
Anua, £13-£28
Azelaic Acid 10+ Hyaluron Redness Soothing Serum (£22, lookfantastic.com) is a standout product from the Korean brand, which has seen a 330 per cent sales growth since its Boots launch in 2024.
Modern Chemistry, £8.50-£15
Hydrogel Mask (£4.50, boots.com) contains niacinamide and walnut collagen to plump skin.
Keats, £28-£29
The Moisturising Cream (£29, keatsbeauty.com) is a luxurious-feeling formula that’s loaded with ceramides.
Boost Lab, £18.99-£29.99
Edelweiss Neck Firming Serum (£25, boostlabco.com) is one of the no-nonsense Australian brand’s bestsellers, new to the UK.