WHAT BETTER TO INVEST IN THAN YOUR OWN SKIN?

TOTAL: £6,023

ESTHER FIELDGRASS, 65, is owner of a chain of aesthetic clinics. she lives in london with her husband. YES, my £6,000 worth of products may seem outlandish, but what better beauty investment than spending money on your skin?

When I was a poor 20-year-old, I remember rubbing my face forlornly with Ponds cold cream one morning and thinking that surely there was something more exciting available.

I went to the chemist that day and blew my meagre salary on a pricey cream — and felt so glamorous applying it that night. From that moment I was hooked.

It became rapidly clear to me that there was masses of variety out there, but that not all skincare is equal; women are duped by the industry’s marketing.

I’d never just buy any product — I research and look carefully at the ingredients before investing. That’s how I can justify my spending — and there’s no escaping the fact a £200 cream has far superior ingredients to a £20 one.

Skincare which works tends to look more like a medical product. You won’t find my favourites, such as Cosmedix or Dermaquest, in a High Street chemist — many are specialist brands and I get a few on professional advice as they contain such potent ingredients.

I’d never use fewer than six basic items every day: a good cleanser, an anti- oxidant, moisturiser, eye cream, SPF and night cream. I think skin gets bored. It needs to have variety in order for products to work properly. And I never get bored with trying new things.

I drive my husband mad. My products overflow on to his side of the bathroom and he barely has room for his shaving foam. 10 PRICIEST PRODUCTS Cellcosmet Cell-Lift, £365 Mesoestetic Crystal Cream, £350 Serum Complexe Royal, £286 Creme MSR-H, £235 Dermaquest: Stem Cell 3D, £220 3D Hydrafirm Serum, £220 3D complex, £220 AQ Serum, £209 Fluide VIP02, £187 Biologique Recherche, £180 AND TOP THREE BARGAINS Dermaquest Zinc Clear, £32.94 Dermaquest Skinbrite, £28.36 Sunescape Tan, £20