With the rising cost of living, British women are forced to scale back on their self–care. To explore how this will impact our beauty spending habits, Beauty Daily by Clarins surveyed 2,000 British women to find their most prized beauty items and what they would remove from their routines if money were an issue.

According to the BACP, two-thirds (66%) of therapists say the cost of living concerns are causing a decline in people’s mental health. As 93% of those surveyed by Beauty Daily revealed that they’re worried the rising cost of living will impact their quality of life, having adequate funds for beauty products and treatments is not to be overlooked.

Beauty Daily found that face masks, perfume and facial exfoliators are a luxury, and UK women would remove them from their beauty routine if forced to make cutbacks.

When looking at the findings overall, skincare was deemed less essential than makeup in light of saving money. However, face masks, exfoliators, toners, face serums, eye creams, cleansers, and lip balms made up the top 10 products they’d stop buying.

Despite revealing the products, they’d remove should money be an issue, 92% of Brits said they would consider more affordable beauty items before removing them from their routine entirely. Face moisturiser came first, with 45% of respondents revealing they’d find a cheaper moisturiser, followed by a cleanser at 43%.

Regarding the products, British women would be less likely to find cheaper alternatives; only 12% cited they’d find more affordable options for contour products, 13% for lashes and 14% for lip liner. This further reinforces the idea that Brits are more inclined to cut costs when it comes to their skincare as opposed to makeup.

With perfumes known to be some of the priciest beauty products, it’s not surprising that Brits would remove it from their beauty routine if they didn’t have adequate funds. What is interesting, though, is that if money was not an issue – 57% of women cited that fragrance is an essential part of their beauty routine. This reveals that what we deem ‘essential’ changes drastically when we no longer have the financial means.

When looking at professional beauty services, the findings reveal that haircuts are the top treatment British women would stop getting done professionally at 38%, followed by hair colouring in second place, gel manicures in third place, and acrylics in fourth place.

Sarah Joan Ross, the editor of Beauty Daily, states: “With the cost of living rising, and a lot of women around the country having to make cutbacks, these findings are so insightful regarding how we spend on our beauty routines. I will certainly be looking at cutting back on a few items, except SPF. This should be considered a non-negotiable staple. However, there’s also a case for looking into formulations – rich, high-tech, and concentrated products that you use less of and inevitably can last much longer could be the way to go.”