My Cheap Favorites: the best bath, body, and hair products for $10 and under

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It's been over a year since I wrote my last cheap favorites master post! I still stand by my choices there, and I don't think I'd change any of them now if I had to do it over. I've had in mind to write this additional post all along, but since I'm admittedly not that picky about products in this category, it hasn't felt so pressing. Still, maybe there's something here for you to discover (or something you can suggest to me!).

Favorite Body Washes: I don't really take baths, so all I've got here are shower products. My criteria for a good body wash or shower gel are simple: gets me clean, doesn't dry out my skin, smells good. There are lots of affordable options that check all of those boxes. I love almond fragrance when it's done well, and Tree Hut Almond and Honey Body Wash does it well. It's also very moisturizing and has a lovely texture. Luxurious, even. I like this so much that I haven't tried any of the other scents, though I suppose I should. The Almond variety is a bit difficult to find in stores. I got this one at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $6.

Empties 2015, Part III (Hair and Body)

Here are some more things I've finished up so far this year. It's kind of fun to keep track of this shit. It's nice to feel like I've accomplished something, even if it is incredibly fucking trivial. I finished a bottle of shampoo! Whatever! So many things in my life are incomplete, but that's not. Plus I have a record to look back at for future purchases.

Hair Products

Generally, I don't write much about shampoo and conditioner or foils, since the former are rarely exciting enough in a good or bad way to warrant comment, and the latter are usually too small to form an opinion about. In the absence of any other information, assume something is just fine. So this should be fairly short.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry: I've reviewed a bajillion dry shampoos on the blog here, but even though I went through two cans of this in the fall, and it's the best one I've tried yet, I haven't written a proper review of it. (Mini Instagram review here, though.) I'll do one with before and after photos when I buy some more, but first I have to use up some more expensive and less impressive dry shampoos (including the Oscar Blandi one reviewed here).

Davines OI Conditioner (mini)

Pantene Smooth & Sleek Shampoo and Conditioner (minis)

Carol's Daughter Sacred Tiare Anti-Breakage Anti-Frizz Leave-In Cream (mini): It didn't really seem to do anything. I don't have much frizz, per se, though I do get quite a bit of breakage. Maybe didn't use this regularly enough to notice a difference.

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Renewal Beach Spray (mini): I like this product, and it smells great. If I were in the market for another beach spray, I'd get this one. I used it to make loose waves in this post, which is maybe not the best advertisement for it. My favorite part is the spray nozzle, so I saved this bottle for some future purpose, to be determined.

Davines Minu shampoo (mini)

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner (foils)

Teadora Rainforest at Dusk Shampoo and Conditioner (minis): Smelled better that Rainforest at Dawn (mentioned here), but otherwise just as mediocre and overpriced.

DermOrganic Daily Conditioning Shampoo and Masque (minis)

Pantene Expert Age Defy Shampoo and Conditioner (foils)

L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Shampoo and Conditioner (foils)


Body Products

Unknown foaming body wash: Got it as a consumer trial, so I have no idea what it is. It comes out of the pump as a moussey foam, and I haven't seen anything like it in store yet. It lasted forever.

Essential Elements Wake Up Rosemary Body Lotion (mini): One of the endless fucking supply of hotel lotions Birchbox has been sending me. Very strongly scented; the initial rosemary fragrance fades quickly to just mint. Worked okay as a hand lotion.

Vitabath Fragrance Mist in Nouveau Rose: I got this from Influenster a million years ago (or October 2012, to be more precise). It had a perfectly fine rose scent, but I don't really use body sprays, so it took some creativity to finish it up. I used it as room freshener, fabric deodorizer, etc. Finally, when there was about an inch and a half of liquid left in the bottle, I just started spraying it on myself every single time I got out of the shower and that eventually killed it.

Nivea Extended Moisture Body Lotion (foil): Makes a good moisturizing hand lotion.

Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream: Spent some Birchbox points on this and used it for most of the winter. It has a nice, fresh grapefruit scent. I wasn't particularly impressed by it while I was using it, but when it was gone and I was left with other things, I missed it. It moisturized well without being greasy, yet it didn't leave my hands feeling really soft. I think I prefer hand creams with a little more silicone for a smoother sensation. While I liked it, I wouldn't spend real money on it, because it costs $15 for 2.5 oz. That's too much for hand cream.

Avon Haiku Roll-On Antiperspirant: I don't usually include deodorant in these things, but there it is. Pretty fragrance, incredibly fucking cheap ($2), and it works well, but there is something supremely unpleasant about rolling cold goo in your pits - and then flapping around like a chicken while you wait for it to dry.

Curel Intensive Healing Cream (mini): I think I finally only have 1.5 of these little tubs left. I use it as hand cream before bed. It's okay (reviewed here).

So that's that, though I still have photos of empty makeup and skincare stuff to post once I have a chance. Getting shit done.

The most moisturizing body wash I've found yet (Tree Hut Shea Moisturizing Shower Wash in Almond & Honey)

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
I have never in my life had as dry skin as I've had this winter. In addition to the extreme cold and wind, the heat in my apartment is always cranked up to 90, and I have no control over it. My skin, all of it, all over my body, is tight and flaky and itchy.

I bought some of this Tree Hut Shea Moisturizing body wash in the Almond and Honey scent pretty much on a whim. I like almond scented things, and that was really the only criteria I had for choosing it. It turns out that it's great.

It cleans your skin thoroughly, unlike some body washes I've used that are advertised as moisturizing, but seem to be mostly just diluted. It doesn't leave a film or anything on your skin; it just leaves it feeling nice after you've dried off. It's pretty much the only body wash/soap I've been able to use this winter that lets me get away with not slathering my entire body in lotion immediately after getting out of the shower. My boyfriend has been using it too, and he's even drier than I am. He's been trying to find an actually moisturizing body wash (or shower gel or whatever they tell dudes these things are called) for much longer than I have. According to him, this is the best ever.

I really like the scent, though I kind of wish it was just almond without the honey. Only because I don't really like honey. It's fairly sweet and smells great while you use it, but doesn't leave a strong scent on your skin after you rinse it off. That works for me.

If you're dry and scaly this time of year too, this stuff is worth trying. It only costs about $5-7. If you don't like almond scents, they have other versions that also have shea butter, but none of them is quite as highly rated as this one on Amazon - and I haven't tried the others myself to compare. Note that the ingredients list on Amazon is not accurate. Drugstore.com has the correct ingredients (though it's a little more expensive there, which is why I included the Amazon link above). The addition of the almond oil, which is higher on the list (i.e. there's more of it) than the shea butter, might be what makes the difference. Most of the other ingredients are the same between the various scents, but with a different oil substituted for the almond.

Clean Up: Softsoap Body Wash, Juicy Pomegranate and Mango Infusions

This stuff smells awesome. It’s juicy and fresh and fruity without smelling like candy and making me want to eat it. It’s better than any fancy Philosophy/Body Shop/Bath and Body Works etc. crap I’ve tried. And it’s under $6 for a huge bottle. Plus it has those tiny bead things in it. Those must do something, right? Okay, probably not.

I currently have at least four nearly full bottles of body wash that are not this, and I am determined to finish them all before I buy any more, which makes me very sad. They are all inferior! But I challenge you to take a whiff of this stuff when you see it on a store shelf and not be compelled to take it home.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.