What's in a Name? Store Brand products that are just as good as name brands

I'm feeling a little Oprah-esque today and thought I'd share some of my favorite store brand name products.

It all started with Family Dollar's Revitalizing Cocoa Butter Scent Gel Body Oil (the close cousin of Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil).

I'd seen this product for a while now, but I was on my "all natural products' kick, but with the summer coming and my desire to glow all of a sudden, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try out this little ditty for $3.25. Well, let me tell you, I put a little bit of this gel on one arm and immediately felt like a golden goddess (I know, ridiculous).

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Next is a product line that I have used in the past (and will this summer), but most recently turned my son onto as he enters the puberty zone, and that's Family Dollar's Oil Free Acne Wash and Acne Treatment Cream.

Close cousins to Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash and Clearasil's Acne Cream, the wash has the standard 2% Salicylic Acid, and the cream has 10% Benzoyl Peroxide. The one thing that finally clicked with me as I help my son navigate through this stage of growth is that it is important to follow the directions. I they are followed then the results will come in a timely manner.

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Exfoliating is so important, especially as the hot and humid season descends upon us suffering East coasters, and the Clarisonic face cleaning brush is very popular (and expensive). Well, even if I did have the funds to spend over $100 to spend on said brush, I wouldn't - I'm just too darn frugal for that, so imagine my surprise when I see the Acne Free Advanced Cleansing Brush in CVS (although I didn't purchase it until I was able to get it for $14.99 in Target, where I bought 2!).

*not a store brand, but a very affordable brand

This little treat runs on 2 double A batteries and includes 2 brush attachments. It operated on 2 speeds, and even though I'm sure there are more benefits to investing in a Clarisonic, the AcneFree Cleansing Brush is a nice substitute.

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In addition, when you don't want to unpack the electronic cleansing brush, there's always the generic hand held version that I got from a random beauty supply store for $1.

When I'm running behind schedule, I use this in the shower.

As the summer approaches, and I get older, I'm becoming even more aware of how I treat my body. While great genes (thanks Grandma) and healthy living play a factor, there's nothing wrong with a little self-pampering (and yes that sounded just as weird in my head as it may in yours!). Everyone deserves to pamper themselves and it shouldn't hurt the wallet, so I will continue to seek out cost effective ways to do this.