Hi there,
I am a time poor mum, so thought I would ask here rather than trawl through the cosmetic counters at my local Myer.
I am almost 39 years old.
I have fair, sun damaged skin that is on the dry and sensitive side.
I need something that will improve the appearance of my skin ie/ wrinkles, bit of redness in T Zone.
Will provide good sun protection (30+ preferably but the higher the better)
Reasonably priced.

I currently use QV cream with 30+ protection, their cleanser and their eye cream. They are OK but I don't think they are actually providing any of the benefits of other skin care systems that purport to improve the appearance of fine lines etc.

I would love to hear what your opinions and recommendations are if you have the time

Thanks!

I would recommend Natio, I have used lots of expensive and these are as good as any plus they are Australian owned and made which is a massive plus for me.

I use their day cream 15+ in summer I add their suncreen 30+ on top.
I love their tinted moisteriser - good for dry skin makes it look at lot smoother but doesnt make wrinkles appear worse as regular foundation can. (will smooth out the redness plus is spf 15+)
Eye cream the radiance range is great
I have combination skin so I use their "young" cleanser it foams really well but you would probably prefer the foaming cleanser in white tube

I also love
Mineral foundation
exfoliant

Not that crash hot on their spa or wellness range except they smell amazing!

They are priced at $10-$20 each and usuallhy you get a decent freebie when you spend $30 so you can look out for other products you want to try.
I have also got two men into their mens range and they swear by it.

I've just started on the Loreal Collagen Plumper range and am liking it so far. And I have very similar skin to yours.

If you keep an eye out you can get it on some good specials, last week it was on sale at Kmart for buy 2 get the 3rd item free and this week the whole range was on sale for $20 save $15.

My mum got me doing the following..massive difference (like you I have some sun damage)

BIO-OIL - you can purchase at chemist/coles. Apply around eyes, nose, any particular dry areas....great for hands and feet as well.

Invisible Zinc - BEST sunscreen (from chemist/coles) expensive but only need a small amount. Allow to settle then apply make up. Will look white, but no colour once smoothed around to soak in.

Then, your general foundation.

The zinc actually 'holds' the makeup and it doesnt easily rub off, which is great!

Ok, thanks for your suggestions ladies! I have thought of Invisible Zinc before but have been put off by the price. I might check it out though if a little bit goes a long way and it is long lasting.
Cheers!

I swear by SkinJuice products. They use an oil at night which is just divine. They are also an Australian owned company with a really ethical focus which I love.

The products cost more to purchase than the supermarket ones but I spend less money in the long run as you only need a tiny amount so they last for ages. You can get them from the on line shop SkinJuice.com.au or from a local salon.

When I was pregnant the Mummy's Tummy was a godsend for stretch marks and itchy stomachs.

When I run out and grab the supermaket ones in the interim I notice a big difference. And then people comment on how good I look when I go back to using SkinJuice

Personally, my preference is all natural so this counts out pretty much all of the store bought ones. You will find that most of those are based on mineral oil (bio oil included unfortunately), which is a petroleum based product that ultimately is bad for your skin, and water, that you end up paying a whole lot of $$$$ for. You are also footing the bill for their ridiculous packaging (given they tend to be such small quantities) and their marketing campaigns so they can continue to sell lots of parrafin oil/mineral oil (not nice stuff - linked to excema and cancer - check this out: http://oc.itgo.com/cancer/environ/tars.htm )and water heavily packaged up in tiny amounts. It's so silly.

I think the main thing is having skin that is hydrated and protected from the sun. I use skincare from a company called Beauty and the Bees. It is DIVINE. Seriously, divine. I used to change products all the time before because I like new stuff but I have been using this for over 4 years now and am yet to get bored. It feels amazing. It smells amazing. It's very affordable. You can buy bulk (they don't have all the bulk sizes listed on their website but you can ask them about it and they'll tell you). It's all natural based on lovely oils, honey, and essential oils. You order online or over the phone and have it delivered. Costs a little for delivery but still so cheap when you look at how much you get. And they always throw in little freebe samples. Oh, and did I mention it is totally divine? Seriously, divine. My skin is quite dry but using this it is fantastic.

Here's their website: www.beebeauty.com - I buy the 500ml face creams (not on their website but you can ask for them over the phone, they cost about $132) and 2 of these (one lighter cream for day and one heavier for night) lasts me a good year (keep the big tub in the fridge because there's no preservatives and decant into a smaller container). Seriously. They are based in Tassie and we visited their store on holidays last year in Sept. I spent about $350 on stuff and never placed a new order until a couple of weeks ago. I think $350 for a year of skin care is fantastic.

Then you just want a good zinc based sunscreen over the top and you're done.

ETA - as a 'toner' I use rosewater. You can buy it in 1L amounts online from New Directions. Only about $8 or $11 or something and it will last at least a year as well. You can also buy a plastic bottle and atomiser from them really cheap and you just spritz it on your face. Beautiful to keep a spray bottle in the fridge in summer too.