It seems that the time from Halloween to New Years is the most eventful time of the year. The most stress, the most deadlines, the worst skin... You can't deny it. All of the Halloween candy, the hot chocolates, marshmallows, and more seem to take a toll on your skin, especially in colder countries. After a few days of what can only be described as a skin disaster, I found that these products seemed to help my face calm down. Even better, they're not all ridiculously overpriced. So you can still buy your holiday presents and keep your face looking as amazing as ever.

To make it just a little bit easier, I'll split everything up into categories :)

La Roche-Posay Effaclar, Soap&Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash, St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub

Face Wash

Morning - Soap&Glory Vitamin C Facial Wash

I love the smell of this! I wouldn't say that it would be for 'all skin types' as stated, but it is lovely for normal/combination/oily skin. I'd avoid it if you have dry skin, just because it can be quite drying. On the whole, it is lovely for the mornings, as it wakes you up and leaves your face smooth and clean.

Evening - La Roche-Posay Effaclar

This is great after cleansing, as it puts moisture back into your skin whilst helping to fight any imperfections. It smells lovely too! La Roche-Posay as a whole seems to be an overlooked brand, but everything I've tried from them to date has been lovely.

Scrub - St. Ives Naturally Clear Apricot Scrub

This too smells divine! It is quite harsh on the skin, so I'd use it only twice or three times a week. I always go a bit red after scrubbing this away, but the large grains help keep the skin smooth and clear.

Toner and Cleanser

The Body Shop is a store that I've always been fascinated by. As a general rule of thumb, I'd say one should never buy anything from there full price, especially in the UK. If you are a fan of the store, sign up for their Love Your Body Card and practically everyday you will receive offer codes for products. It saves you a ton of money, even during their sales! For toner, I've been ploughing through their Tea Tree Cleanser for a while (it's huge!), and can very proudly say that I'm on the second bottle. I feel it helps to mattify the skin, whilst still keeping it moisturized. Also, whenever I have scarring or pigmentation, it does seem to help reduce that. I also love the camomile cleansing butter. After school, it's my makeup remover of choice, and it removes everything perfectly. Just apply a bit, massage it into the skin, and wipe it off with a wet cloth. Also, one tin lasts a really long time! I've had mine since July, and am only now almost out of it. 

Moisturizers

Day - Clean&Clear Dual Action Moisturizer 

After all the heavy night creams and things I apply before I go to bed, a light moisturizer is all that's needed in the morning. This one claims to have the power to fight spots and moisturize at the same time. Whilst I can't say whether it helped prevent spots, I can say that it is a nice, fragrance free moisturizer which would be great for sensitive skin whilst not making you gouge your eyeballs at the price (we've all been there before). 

Night - The Body Shop Tea Tree Blemish Fade Night Lotion

This really does help reduce scarring. After using it over the summer, I found that it did help to not only prevent spots, but also reduce the scarring I always seem to have afterwards. Great for those stressful times and helping to get to that makeup free skin stage. 

A little extra - The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil

Whilst this doesn't smell the best, it does definitely help keep skin moisturized and reduce spots overnight. A drop of this could be mixed into moisturizer for some extra protection, or just used underneath all of your night cream and serums to help keep skin feeling soft.

Whilst this is on the pricier end of the budget skincare range, I do feel that this is making a difference on my under eyes. Gone is the severe swelling and puffiness that I often got in the morning! I feel the effects of this if I use this at night, wash my face in the morning, wear makeup, remove that makeup and touch my under eyes almost 24 hours later. If you feel like you have some seriously tired looking eyes, spending a bit more on eye cream is a must!

Overall... 

Let me know what budget-friendly items you're using as the weather gets cooler, and what you think of these products if you try them!