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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

the cost of beauty

i used to spend money like it was growing on trees.  trips to nordstrom and sephora were routine, and i'd drop cash on all sorts of fun stuff that caught my eye.  sorta like what high society in the old days called "nouveaux riches" - sort of.

and then the economy took a shit and so did the hub's industry.  bah.  you remember operation downsize, don't you?  i learned a lot and found myself going back to my budgeting, penny-pinching roots during that year-ish.  it was fun and depressing all at the same time.  heh.

i'm totally rambling.  what else is new, right?  well, i'm not exactly back to my old spendy ways, but i realized that i'd been headed in that direction again - at least, when it comes to cosmetics.  you know i love me some makeup, and when i started running out of key products in my stash, the teen and i hit the mall. 

but as we were perusing sephora and i was happily tossing this and that into my basket, she became my voice of reason:  "mom, you can get that at target, and it'd be way cheaper."

wah waaaah.  i reeeeeeaaaalllllyyyyyy love my urban decay 24/7 eyeliner and the fresh brown sugar body lotion and the stila convertible color and and and...

she was right.  i truly didn't need to drop three figures on stuff to use on my face.  and so the majority of the products went back on the shelf and we headed to good ol' target.

from $25 stila blush to $5 maybelline:



the colors aren't quite the same (okay, they're really very different), but the cheapy stuff works just fine.  i'm happy to save $20.

as for my beloved urban decay eyeliner, the revlon colorstay is a decent substitute.  i guess.  i'm saving $13 here.


mascara has been a drugstore buy for me for ages now, after i came to realize that the pricey higher-end stuff really isn't much different.  some of you may disagree, but i'm good with my combo of l'oreal extra collagen and...any other brand with a brush that separates my lashes.


not to mention, i scored on a multi-pack of this at costco for $14 - and i had a $2.50 coupon too!  woohoo!


i also bought this stuff thinking i'd do my own manicures.  so far, they're still unopened.  heh.


i did splurge on a couple of things, though.  i can't seem to stay away from my beloved MAC studio fix.  it's just too easy to slap it on and go - fits right into my 5-minute makeup routine. 






and because i'm a total sheep, i followed the lead of my twirlies and dropped the cash on this:


this color is FANTASTIC.  i got it on my toes during my last pedicure (yeah, i'm too lazy to DIY those) and it's a totally fun, metallic, super chic color.  it'll work right through the rest of summer and all the way through fall and winter.

i did see at sally beauty supply that they sell the stuff to do gel manicures, too.  the base, the color, and the little UV light to bake it on.  i'm actually considering picking that up and saving the extra $15 per visit to the nail salon. 

that's if i'm not too lazy to do it myself, that is.  heh.

6 comments:

  1. Urban decay is having a blowout sale right now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love Lash Blast. I too have started purchasing drugstore make up they are the same companies at the higher end.

    I can NEVER give up my LM compact. Plus I love the free samples I occasionally get from Sephora.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I pay waaaaaay more for my makeup now and there is such a difference!! I dont know I could go back to my old cheaper brands. I love me some Glo Minerals concealer, powder, blush, and eyeliner. I know you like your mascara, but if you ever need a change Blinc is the way to go... that stuff is amazing :) K love you bye!

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  4. I've been using that Colorstay e/l for years & love it. And the original L'Oreal Voluminous mascara has been my "holy grail" mascara for over a decade & I've tried many of the dept. store ones.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I actually like to splurge on makeup because my face needs all the help it can get :) I rarely try new products though (eeek, too overwhelming), so overall my spending is not too bad.

    And kudos to the Teen for being so conscious about money!

    ReplyDelete

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