Pretty Frugal but Fabulous: Beauty Edition

With today's lousy economy (and I'm telling you it's getting worse each month), I have decided to cut off my expenses starting middle of 2009 especially in the beauty department. Turns out, I'm really making a progress. I can see a big difference.

Here are some tips I came up with on being frugal but staying fabulous: Beauty Edition. Please note that this post will be constantly updated when something important comes up.

1. Shop once a month for your beauty essentials. Make a list of the things "you think" you need then evaluate. You'll find out that you can live without most of them. Don't be tempted of anything that says SALE or CLEARANCE, in the end you will not really use them. It is better to own one great product than having a lot of junk ones in your vanity table. Been there, done that.

2. Buy 1 item per category. For example, you don't have to get 2 kinds of moisturizers. One tinted moisturizer will do it or you may prefer a regular one. Or, one blush is enough, you don't have to buy all colors. Or, stick to your favorite perfume, keep using it and it will become your signature scent... and so on!

3. Quit going to the nail salon. Learn how to Do-It-Yourself, it's very easy and simple. Trust me, the results are much better. I said much better because I have been to dozens of nail salons (expensive and cheap) but all of them is not good enough for me. There's only one vietnamese guy that can pass my standards in doing the nails but he's like 30 mins away from my house. Even if i set up an appointment with him, it's not guaranteed that he can render me his services the moment i arrive (sometimes i have to wait 15-20 mins). I got tired, that's when i decided to do my own. Now i have fresh colors once or twice a week if i feel like doing it. And i save a lot of money, time and gas.

4. Go to your hair salon every 3 months instead of going every 6-8 weeks. Honestly, I go have my hair trimmed every 5 months and treat my hair once a year (i.e. magic perms).

5. Reduce going to spas/massages unless you're really stressed or have muscle pains. Best alternative is going to an unlimited sauna/spa. I am so lucky i have one 10 mins from my house. They're open 24 hours and you can stay there as long as you like. You can get services too but we're trying to be frugal here so we have to do it ourselves. They have different heated mineral pool, cold bath pool, aqua jets, dry/wet sauna (i call it steamers), relaxing lounge, healing rooms, mini gym... use all for 25 bucks. Definitely count me IN! P.S. Don't forget to bring your scrubbies.

6. Do your facials at home. There are so many products to choose from. It's just about finding the right one that works for your skin.

7. Make yourself busy so you forget about going out. BLOG!

When you think about it, beauty products are really not a necessity. They belong to unnecessary expenses. I know a lot of people who don't wear makeup and good for them coz that's a big plus in their bank account. But there are people who can't live without some beauty essentials, like me :))

This post simply serves as a guide for girls/women like me who are into vanity but want to improve their spending habits.

Hope this helps. If you have some tips you'd like to share, please feel free to post it here.