Having missed the bus to go into town earlier today, I decided instead to shop for my urgent shampoo needs at my local chemist. Why not, I thought, I'll support my local independent retailers.

Now, I've been in this chemist before but only to pick up my contraceptive prescription (which worked out well!) so, I'd not really paid much attention to the shop part of it before. But on closer inspection I realised that this little shop is a veritable Aladdin's cave of health and beauty. That is, if Aladdin was shopping at a car boot sale in the 80s!  Fisherman's Friends and random unheard of brands of chocolate abound.

Before I can hit the personal hygiene section, I am waylaid by an entire rack of baby equipment that begs closer inspection. Before I know it I've picked up a baby brush and comb set, a bottle brush, some dummies and a thingy to stop baby losing said dummies. Just some random brands, not that I care that much, although the packaging looks super old fashioned.

Next it's on to the washing stuff, to pick up shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. No problems with the gel, there was a fairly decent selection at a pound a go. I picked up a basic Carex bodywash. But the shampoo was a different story. I'm not sure who does the ordering of products at this chemist but it's fairly obvious that it's a man.

There were about 20 different shampoo bottles of different brands and types, none with matching conditioners. The few conditioners on the shelf had no matching shampoo. It was all very confusing. Brands included stalwarts Schwartzkof and Alberto, with some really obscure ones and a couple of Pantene and Head and Shoulders thown in.  In the end I went for a Timotei Pure 2-in-1 job against my better judgement as it was the only one for greasy hair. 

Finally I head to the skin care section to pick up some baby lotion and see they have Ponds. I haven't used this for a few years, not since Kylie or someone like that created that cold cream revival. But the anti-wrinkle day moisturiser was only £3.99!! so I pick one of those up too.
















Now I'm home and I've just had a shower and used my three chemist-sourced products. How did I get on?

Timotei Pure 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner £1.99
Actually I was pleasantly surprised by this. I'm not against 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner as a concept but the reality for women like me with fine, thick, long hair is that the conditioner element usually just doesn't work. But I was able to comb my hair with ease after washing with this and now my hair is dry it looks good. Wonders never cease. Also, it's free from chemical nasties and parabens, so yay!

Carex shower cream £1
What can you say about this really? It smells a bit like basic soap but it lathered up well in the shower and hasn't dried out my skin so not too bad.

Ponds Nourishing Anti-Wrinkle cream £3.99
This is really nice - much lighter than cold cream, it left my skin feeling really moisturised without greasiness. Also it has spf15 which is nice for a day cream. I'm not sure how well it works as an anti-wrinkle cream after just one use but I intend to find out and for £3.99 you can't really go wrong! What other anti-aging products can you get for that price??