Extrapolating Angie's "hidden assets" costs.... - YouLookFab Forum

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Extrapolating Angie's "hidden assets" costs....

Isabel

Veteran

To "maintenance ". Do you budget for hair, skin, nails and so on ? I was always budgeted for my skin but not really anything else. And by skin I mean a good moisturizing cleanser, retinol, sunscreen and vitamin c. Over the last year, I have been experimenting with make up for an easy day look and I have finally settled on something. And it is not all drug store stuff. I have found a great hair stylist and I want regular cuts. You get the picture. This naturally, for me, means shifting clothing budget over to these things.

Do you do this ? What would you give up in order to have a better hair cut or the perfect blush color or the great "specs", like Angie says. Does it matter to you ? I am finding that it does to me and I am willing cut back on clothes. In fact, I want a laser treatment for my skin, so I have to save for that and it will come from the clothing $$$$.

I am just chomping at the bit to get your thoughts.

General

23 replies

Latest reply was from Karie

Aida

Veteran

Hmm well I don't budget for those things because I don't have to, they just get purchased Clothing comes almost entirely out of my set aside "play" money, whereas beauty comes primarily out of our daily expense money. I know this is a lucky thing!

I'm all about the natural look (you've met me, you know this ^^). So I consider skin/hair/beauty a BIG BIG fashion priority, they are very much worth spending on when necessary (hubby understands that, too). That said, I don't actually do too much. I spent more and regularly on my hair, both cut and products, but if cheaper things worked I wouldn't be averse to them (they just don't usually work heh). Hair is definitely my biggest "hidden cost"! And I also get my brows done regularly at the salon. Makeup, what little of it that I wear (mascara, lash conditioner, tinted lip balms, remover), is a much smaller cost. Currently I don't do much more than the basics for skincare (moisturizers, sunscreen, face wash), but I'd be willing to spend on that too. I do have a mix of salon and drugstore items across all these maintenance categories, though.

I do budget separately for nail polish, though, and that comes out of my play funds 0:} On occasion I go in and have my nails done at the salon, but usually I just do it myself at home. I spend more on my topcoat, have a mix of cheap/salon polishes, and use a decent remover that I purchase from a beauty supply store.

EDIT: I had to add that, Isabel, sometimes I think that perhaps I should go for a less minimal look and then I remember our conversation about this in LA. It is one of my best encouragements to keep up with this idea, so thank you

Diana

Veteran

I consider my hair cut/color a recurring cost, although admittedly not a "need it to live" one like my electric bill. But the point is that I know it's coming and how much it will be whereas how much I spend on clothing varies wildly.

Other than hair (which is honestly not that much over a yearly basis bc I am lazy and don't go as often as I should) my budget for skin care and makeup is minimal bc well, my skin routine is minimal. I do usually also buy a fancy conditioner or shampoo when I get my haircut, just to support my hairdresser (who owns the salon).

ETA: I know I'm lucky not to have to worry about the cost though. I stress about overspending on clothes even though I can technically afford it, just because sometimes it feels excessive to buy so many things. But one haircut is one haircut and it always lasts 4-6 months so that's not excessive.

Anonymous

I have a clothing/beauty budget. I never really thought about it, but yes, if I spend more on beauty that month, I will cut back on clothing. I just makes sense to me.

Btw. I hope you love your laser treatment. Come back and let us know what you think. I am always interested.

E

Veteran

The cost of maintaining a pixie cut is why I grew my hair back into a bob: I'm on a tight budget, so $50 every six weeks would have been almost all of my fun money (I tried cheap places to maintain but didn't like the result)-not clothing fun but all hobbies fun. Just not worth it for me. With a bob, I'm happy with a cut at a cheap place 2-3 times a year. Luckily, in everything else beauty related I'm very much a product minimalist, and things seem to last ages (pretty sure I've had my shampoo bottle for over a year now!). Almost all of my products are hippie-esque and not badly priced: face sunscreen is what I buy most frequently and it's most expensive at $13/2 oz. Drugstore makeup works well for me, although my sister gave me some Laura Maurcier mineral foundation (wrong colour for her) that I'm now addicted to, so when I finish that up, I'll pay the extra cost to replace it. Since none of these are regular costs, I don't budget specifically for them, the way I have a monthly thrifting budget or annual shoe budget. But I also don't enjoy browsing/trying new things in this category, so I don't need any controls on my shopping, unlike in a thrift store.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I'm like Aida -- I don't "budget" for haircuts and the like -- they just come out of the day-to-day expense money! Hair is probably my biggest expense, even though I tend to drag out the time between appointments and try to at least go two full months in between. But cut and color plus tips is not cheap at the salon I like, and I've been going to the same guy for over ten years, so it's an expense I'm willing to carry.

I don't do waxing or eyebrows (I figure shaving has worked this long, and I'm a DIY eyebrow kinda gal) or any other kind of spa treatments. I have maybe 2-3 pedicures a year (I do my own in between). Perhaps one facial or massage a year, as a special treat, usually after I finish a big goal like a half marathon.

My products are not the cheapest in the world, but neither are they the most expensive -- they tend to be a high-low mix. Dove soap, Avalon Organics moisturizer, Burts Bees eye cream, etc. Makeup is probably a bit more pricey -- Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer and MAC mascara are not cheap, and they're my mainstays, but eye pencils, blushes, and the like last a long time.

I have started to think that I might want to get some kind of treatment on my age spots -- I have no idea what that costs, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

rachylou

Veteran

Sadly, I'm very lazy and incompetent in the areas of hair and beauty. I've never been disciplined enough to go in for regular facials - although I would get them. Beauty products - I'd randomly buy different luxe petro-chem things
to try out and pretty much never stuck with any program. I'm a little better about hair, and in the past I spent about $300 every 6-8 weeks on hair. And $60 on manicures every couple of weeks. Hmm. $60 doesn't sound like much. Maybe it was more.

Nowadays I've gotten cheap. Well, I'm both unwilling to spend so much and what I want costs less. I do random, all-organic at-home facials because I'm pretty afraid of endocrine disruption (I'm three-four endocrine issues down for the count). Little makeup and nail polish because of where my work has taken me (against health and safety rules). My biggest skincare splurge is ~$60 for MyChelle polypeptide cream. I might start thinking about adding one toxic petrochem product back for the sake of my vanity - a retinol. Hair is about $100 every 6-8 weeks. I have to admit, I think that the $300 I used to spend was pretty frivolous. I'm not a tv anchor. I probably could have bought a nice car with the money I spent, and now that I've started thinking ahead to my next car, well... On the other hand, I must say I was seeing a master stylist. Her skills were phenomenal, and she was more than 3x better than the average. There are no masters where I live now.

To be honest, my grandma never had a single wrinkle. She was an extremely faithful user of Oil of Olay and Clinique moisturisers. I would probably go to her routine before giving up clothes money.

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Oh geez, we are supposed to have a beauty budget?? Kidding. Sort of. I'm a pretty low maintenance gal myself. I try for 4 haircuts a year but often end up with 3. I get an itch to dye or highlight maybe every 5th year? That might change as the greys are marching ever more to the forefront.
Beauty treatments are zip, nil, nada. I've had 2 facials in my life (one being a graduation of high school present). 2 pedicures and 2 manicures. I do all that myself. Ditto eyebrows and waxing.
I have had the odd massage every year or two (10 maybe lifetime) but use xmas or bday gift money for those.
As for makeup, I often buy fun stuff at BigLots for $3 that I like the looks of just to try. I only spend on hair conditioner and face cream. None are department store, just higher end drugstore I'd say.
If I had to guess, my yearly budget would comprise $200 for haircuts, $50 for hair products, $25 for makeup, and $25 for skin cream?

EDIT: SMH! I did IPL for the first time this year. No wonder it felt like such a splurge, given my near non existent beauty upkeep.

JayS

Veteran

Luckily I don't have to choose, but if I did I would choose beauty over clothes. A couple of years ago, I took the plunge and began seeing a well regarded hair stylist. She has pointed me in a direction, both cut and color, that I really like. My hair is short and I get root touchups along with a cut every 5 weeks. Every 4th or 5th visit I also get highlights. It's pricey, but my hair is always with me. That awesome top can only be worn ever so often.
I have also spent some $$ on cosmetic procedures. Just had my last of 3 fraxel laser treatments yesterday. My face looks like a giant red balloon right now, but it does firm the skin and improve tone. Love it!

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

I don't really have a budget for hair cuts because I haven't cut it in about two years ... I guess I buy nice products for my hair, but I buy it once a year at Costco and then I'm kind of set. The same thing with my makeup - it's not drugstore stuff but I buy blush and foundation maybe 2x a year and my primer is still good to go ... Lipstick is from the drugstore.

I spend maybe $30/yr on hair ... and maybe $200/yr on makeup ... and that's it!

Niefern

Perhaps we don't need to spend a lot on creams. A Spanish consumers' agency has just released a study about moisturizing and anti-wrinkle face creams and guess what? The best one is a dirt cheap cream sold at Lidl supermarkets: Day cream Q10. Price? just 2.99 euro!

TraceyLiz65

(website)

Veteran

Yes, I definitely budget for the beauty items and fluctuate what I spend on clothing second to those things.
I actually value skin care and hair as top on my lists and don't go cheap there... I however just came across this incredible line as a Sam's Club roadshow , a procuct line called Laveau that I bought for just $60 and have to say this stuff is incredible.. After using it for a week I've gone back three times and taken friends and bought 4 sets to give to DD and my two besties...This set is suppose to last a year, but we will see. If interested you can go to the Sam's Club website and click on Roadshows to see when they may be coming to your area store.

At my age I love Argan infused products for make up and am hooked on Josie Maron line... there are some things worth comprimising on, but this really does come first for me... As for hair, I go to a more expensive salon , but tend to go only 4-5 times a year....I am so blessed that my husband fully supports my obsessions and delights in the joy this brings me, but i do try to counter it with some thrifting and getting clothing off season on clearance and have become quite good at it for things like boots and coats and am proud to say DD has learned this too and has just stocked up on several boots for fabulous prices for her move to Boston much colder winters... Now if she will just listen to me about good skin care!!!!

kkards

Veteran

i do budget for hair and manicure/pedicures. i brown bag it most days to offset my beauty budget. and while I'm willing to spend on cosmetics, i buy drug store soaps and cleaners.

Aida

Veteran

Rachy, there's something to that simple beauty fluid I tell you. My mom has amazing skin and just uses the Oil of Olay plain stuff. No other fancy products, no fancy soaps, nothing but sunscreen and that. I noticed it when I was young, and since our skin is similar vowed to do the same. I do use an all natural facial scrub in the morning and Ponds at night for makeup removal, but otherwise so far so good with the OoO. Of course I'm still half her age, but I've a good feeling about it.

Diana

Veteran

I use the Olay with sunscreen for sensitive skin, and have used it for years and years. I nearly cried when they changed the formulation (to something containing a sunscreen that I'm allergic to), switched to the Target knockoff for a while, and wrote some pleading reviews on various sites. So, apparently so many people did that that they brought back the old formula. Happy ending!

But, yes, I'm very happy with my Olay. =) For face wash, I use Liquid Neutrogena, which is another super-throwback kind of face product. Glycerin-based and very gentle. I don't do well with most other face washes.

Aida

Veteran

Diana that's what I use too! I didn't even notice the formula change, but I did notice that it was making me break out for a good while there and had to split into the basic Olay with a separate sunscreen. Wonder if that was the time the formulation was different?

kerry

Veteran

I have a discretionary spending amount per month. My husband does too. That money is meant to cover everyday personal spending (coffees, lunches etc.), clothing and beauty. I tried a lot of new beauty items this year (I'm turning 44 next month and thought I should start paying attention!). I ordered some Paula Begoun items and started using an Olay product. None of it was cheap nor was it expensive but I'm not sure it did anything so I think I'll just stick to cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen (all drugstore) so no big spending there.

Hair, on the other hand, is a big expense. I do colour (high and low lights) and keep my hair fairly long. I'm really picky about my hair cut and colour so am willing to spend. I've had many good colourists and stylists but not many great ones. Right now, I have a great colourist and an almost great stylist and it's worth it. I try to have my hair done 4 times a year but sometimes I'll try to save by stretching it out. Someone, on a blog, maybe here, said that our hair is the one of the only accessories we wear everyday so we should endeavour to have it look nice. I used to have my brows waxed but now I do it myself at home. Part of that is convenience, part of it is savings but mostly it's because I've had some scary brow experiences! I have very strong brows so if they are not done right - yowza!

I realized doing a budget recently (I added up 14 months worth of clothing and beauty purchases!) that I need to budget more per month for hair. It means I have less to spend on clothing but that's OK. I wish there were a magic pill to take care of all unwanted hair AND that styled hair every day! That I'd pay a small fortune for - maybe my whole clothing budget

MRL

Veteran

I don't actually budget for beauty items or services, I just spend when things need to be done. My hair is thick and wavy, can look really good...or really awful so I spend on good haircuts. As I have aged , I get color, too. The hair cost is non-negotiable for me.
I use sunblock, moisturizer and night cream - all brands that are bought at Target, CVS or grocery store. Makeup is high/low. I have some favorite Laura Mercier products (expensive but they last) and some inexpensive stuff,
I get pedi's during sandal season (May-Sept) only. Mani's for special occasions only. My hands are in file cabinets all day at work so mani's don't last!

Anonymous

No. I'm pretty low maintenance. If I get a haircut, it's at Great Clips ($13) and my sunscreen and lotion get bought with the groceries. I shave with a 10 cent razor and do my own nails and eyebrows.

rabbit

Veteran

I don't budget for makeup and hair because it was a minimal expense for so long. I use Aveda concealer and powder, which was pricier but it lasted for several months so I only had to replace it 2 or 3 times a year. I used simple moisturizers with sunscreen, and brought home a suitcase full of Neem and ayurvedic soap from India which my skin loves. My husband would trim my hair (all one length, I did the fringe), and I dyed it black --- boom I was good to go throughout my 20's and 30's. Occasionally I'd go somewhere and get a refresher cut with a few layers but that was about it.

In the last few years I wanted to lighten my look and so transitioned toward a brown with highlights and more layers, and the salon dye jobs were expensive, so now I'm trying to do that twice a year and do the roots at home (my husband dyes my roots and does my eyebrows, I've trained him in exchange for ironing ). I'm also happier with shorter single length hair again although I still want to get salon cuts seasonally and try to keep some color dimension even if I'm doing most of the roots at home. My haircuts and salon hair dye come out of my work income -- I treat it like an unreported business expense (not to the IRS of course) so it's separate from any joint household accounts.

Never gotten a pedicure or manicure, and I can't paint my nails and have to keep them short due to my work anyway.

I do usually budget for exercise classes, although I haven't done any this year. Kickboxing, step aerobics, jazzercise, etc. do more for the 'hidden assets' than anything else in my experience.

Isabel

Veteran

Thank you ladies for all the comments. I have not had time to read all and reply, but I will tomorrow. Didn't want you thinking that I forgot. : )

Gigi

Veteran

I don't budget for these things, because a haircut for me is a necessity. I don't get coloring or anything special done...heck, I even don't have it styled afterward so as to save some bucks. :^)

As for makeup, I didn't wear makeup for years, so I just had to go out and buy some. I have a nice assortment now (the basics, with two options for eyeshadow, blush, and lips), and I'm sure that will last me for 6-12 months. Since that is such a rare expenditure, I wouldn't budget for that either.

As for other beauty products, I get by with the bare minimum and use things like argan oil on my face and sesame oil on my body. I don't get pedis or manis but do them myself.

I guess what I am seeing is that I funnel as much money as possible into clothing and less into the other beauty areas. It's not that I think those other areas are unimportant, but they seem to be bigger daily time suckers than fashion, and I have to budget my time carefully. Also, I have a lot of health issues and often need to nap during the day, and no matter how nice your haircut is or how perfectly applied your makeup is, it just doesn't look that great after a nap!

Debbie

Veteran

I have my hair colored every 6 to 8 week. I used to have pangs of guilt over this and even colored my own hair for awhile. I didn't like the way it looked so I am back to the salon. I have tried to wax myself if was a disaster. I don't budget for these things. They come out of the general budget.
I am considering laser hair removal because I think it would help my self confidence tremendously . If it needed to come out of the clothing budget I have issues with that.
I have recently changed the make up products I was using and I love them? They may end up in the clothing budget.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

Like some of the others, my beauty/hair care budget comes out of the household budget, not my clothing budget. I get my hair cut and colored every 6 weeks, and I buy good good quality hair products from the salon or beauty supply store.
I purchase the gold 'ol drugstore facial stuff - Oil of Olay or Garnier Fructis facial and eye cream, which I have used religiously since I was in my 20's. I get told constantly that I look a decade younger than I am, so I guess it's working. I do want to get an eyelift as my eye lids are getting very droopy, and that $$$$ will have to come out of every budget I can scrape it from.