Last week Sheena shared her splurge and save habits for her beauty needs… l, however, am a different breed in the Vaid sisters trio! Because of my need for perfection, I for some reason, prefer to do almost everything myself… ALMOST! Let me tell you more…
Hair Color = Save! Ever since starting nursing school, I started getting grays… needless to say I was young and definitely not going to spend the amount of money it took to get your hair professionally colored when you could get the same results from a box! So with that, I fell in love with Clairol’s – Perfect 10 – Dark Golden Brown, which I think I used for about 10 years, until last year when they discontinued it (BUT WHYYYYY??!?!?!)… So since then, I have been looking and looking for a color that is as close to that with the shine and gray coverage included but have not yet been successful… So, in sheer desperation, I went to a salon to have it color matched and single color processed my hair (and with some insisting from the sisters got a balayage treatment). Let me tell you, my grays came back faster than when I use my at home boxes after spending about 15 times the cost of a box! So back to the box I go – I will keep you posted if I find something close! A former hair stylist also once told me about gray magic which I am going to try as well… keep you posted on that as well!
Eyebrows = Save! I also started threading my eyebrows back in high school. A uni-brow is definitely no way to go through high school – although I fear that this is all moving up and my little girls are going to have to be “groomed” much earlier in life *tear… So with that said, we had our aunt thread our eyebrows for the longest, but after leaving for college and getting married, we had to find new ways. Like Sheena said, we never dished out more than $4-5, but the new mall kiosks charge upwards of $14-17!!! INSANITY. So I tweeze in between making it to a salon that will get the job done in under $5! The other good thing was that Dipti and I learned how to at least thread enough to “clean up” our eyebrows, so when in a crunch we use each other’s help!
Blowouts = Spend! Different from Sheena and Dipti, I absolutely love big, voluminous, curls-galore blow outs which I usually am too lazy to do myself… So, after my annual haircut (or the random one or two times when I do not have enough time to blow dry my hair myself at home before an event), I do not mind spending a little extra to let the stylist use some awesome products and give me a great blowout! It also gives me a nice 30-40 minutes to just sit and relax and do nothing – which every girl/daughter/fiancé/wife/mommy/aunt/granny needs once in a while! But let me mention this happens like maybe 2 times a year – so technically it’s a save ;).
Hair Cut = Save! Well this is a tricky one. Ever since high school I have gotten the SAME exact haircut – long layers in the back with face framed angle layers in the front. Literally, same exact thing. So I had one stylist I used religiously and I can say that in the grand scale of haircuts, I think it was a save ($45). But last year, I decided enough was enough and I needed a drastic change – so I chopped off 14 inches and got a really short haircut at a high end salon… this metamorphosis cost me $95 *gasp! I’m sure there are stylists that charge way more for even a trim, but for me this was a splurge that is NOT going to be a frequent one! So, I will likely go back to my tried and true long layers in the back and face frame angle layers in the front and call it a day!
Massages = Spend! I love a good massage and boy are they hard to find! Sometimes Neal and I will treat ourselves to a relaxing massage at one of those Asian massage places… $50 for 60 minutes. Not too bad. But even on vacation, depending on how much time we have, we like to pamper ourselves as it is not a frequent happening! Usually at resorts, you end up paying upwards of $200 for 50 minutes, but hey, work hard play/relax harder, right?! Since this is an occasional treat, we like to make it worth it because it may only happen 2-3 times a year! But, I will say that I have yet to find a pre-natal massage that rocks – the ONLY one I loved was at a resort called La Tortuga in Riviera Maya! Other than that, no luck yet!
Nails = Save! Here is something I am NEVER thrilled about… I always come home cranky that the polish is not right, or has bubbles, or you can see bumps in the polish or they made my cuticles bleed and it still hurts. Very annoying. I usually keep my nails super short so I am able to file and paint them at home. I usually do a decent enough job to keep myself happy *ha. And since I am SUPER ticklish, I cannot stand pedicures. I rather someone punch me (not literally) than touch my feet. So all in all, the one time a year I get a manicure (probably even more infrequent pedicure), I would definitely call this a save!
Waxing = Save! I learned to wax my own arms at home probably in high school, so this is one thing I save on. When I need to do my legs, I will go out, but I am usually able to handle this task at home. Since I have really little/slow grow back, I LOVE these Simply Ready to Use Wax Strips by Gigi for “touch ups” on my legs and arms. They are preloaded with wax and make literally no-mess! I have had one box for like 4 years and they still work like a charm! So awesome.
Facials = Save! I do not do facials – at all. 1- I think they are annoying, and 2 – I feel like they irritate my skin versus help me glow! When I need a good exfoliation on my face, I love using the Clarin’s Gentle Exfoliator (it smells delish!).. but on the regular I just use my good old Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub which I have been using for years… Keeping my skin care regime simple I believe has helped me keep my skin at peace.
Make-up – Splurge/Save! This is one area where I think many will agree that there are definitely some things to splurge on and lots of things to save on. While Sheena and Dipti buy Nars blushers, MAC lipsticks and whatever else branded things they love, I tend to only splurge on basics… and by basics probably only eyeshadows! I think I used the MAC Arena eyeshadow since my wedding and then a few years ago fell in LOVE with Urban Decay and bought one of their box sets – their pigment on top of their eyeshadow primer is unreal!!! Then just two weeks ago, I went to Sephora on a whim and ended up getting the Tarte contouring blush/eyeshadow palette and LOVE it.. will definitely do a post just to show you how nice it looks on Indian skin! Again, at $40 for a whole palette I don’t think it’s that big of a splurge, but still up there. My next and only splurge left to make is the Urban Decay Naked II palette – love love love! Other than that, I tend to buy lipsticks, blush, mascara, etc from drugstores because then I do not feel bad trying different products more frequently.
So there you have it… do you see where we differ so much?! Wait until you read about Dipti’s save and splurge – you will most likely see more splurges then saves 😉
Thank you for sharing.
I started coloring my hair when I saw too many gray hairs with henna. The salon and box dyes not only damage your hair but contain known carcinogens and can cause other health problems. The henna gives me great color, shine, covers the grays completely as well as leaving my hair soft and silky. The henna colors the grays differently than the darker hairs, so I get a multidimensional effect versus a monotone plastic look with the salon and box dyes. I have my husband do the full application every three months and root touch ups with leftover henna that we freeze. I have him trim my hair on the same schedule to remove splits and keep my ends neat. I get a lot of compliments on my hair. One lady who manages a salon stopped me in the grocery store to ask where I had it done. She was impressed with how great it looked. My neighbor stopped by to visit when my husband was trimming my hair and doing a root touch up and complimented him on how detailed he was getting my roots covered. She had worked in a salon and said I was lucky that my husband would do it for me and do such a great job. So I save a lot of money as the cost of henna is about $40 a year and haircuts are free. I do my own nails, eyebrow tweezing, and as for massages, I prefer my husband’s back, neck, scalp and shoulder massages. I don’t want anyone else touching me. I wear a neutral shade of lipstick and don’t wear any other makeup as I have sensitive skin and makeup made me break out. I do use a good sulphate and paraban free shampoo and conditioner I buy at Sally’s. Otherwise I don’t spend much on beauty products and I spend ZERO on salon services.
Hey Keri – sounds just up my alley! I have tried Henna before and it turns my grays into an orange-reddish color which does not look so great on me… maybe I need to check into a different kind… but yes totally agree with the saves otherwise! Thanks for commenting!
I use a darker shade of henna now as I experienced the same thing the first time I tried going with the henna. I went with the light mountain henna last time, but the Morocco method henna and the color labs henna brands have both given me great results.
A good spot for a prenatal massage is DePasquale Spa in NJ. Ask for Dawn- she is uhmazing! I love going for massages and this is my go to place for a little pampering even post pregnancy.
THANKS will def check it out…