Being a thrifty girl in an expensive world.
As a twenty-something living in Manhattan, it’s not cheap. Throw in being a female into the mix, and you’re like me. Broke. As I always say, it’s more maintenance being a girl, and therefore costs more money. However, there are tricks to cutting corners and cutting costs in which many girls don’t know about and many secrets that haven’t been shared (many of which guys may want to know). Of course, you can always resort to having a guy pay for things, but where’s the fun in that?
-Get creative! When models run out of zit cream they often use toothpaste, which has the same drying effect as acne meds do. (Couldn’t tell you if the “whitening” formulas have a certain effect on your face). Also, if you can’t cover up a zit, Visine works like it does for your eyes; “it gets the red out.”
-Ask for samples! My father’s girlfriend walked into Keil’s one day and said that I wanted to try some of their products but couldn’t get to the store. They literally handed her a shopping bag full of travel-sized samples from shampoo to body wash to lotions, which we divided up and I still use. Of course when I went in to use her tactic on my own, they “ran out” and I only received one measly packet of lotion, but hey, it was something. Stores are happy to give away free samples for you to try their products and hopefully get you to come back. Though I probably take advantage of this a bit too much, especially since my favorite perfume costs $80 and I refuse to purchase it. I take monthly trips to Sephora and request samples of the perfume that I would looove to “try” and they give me a handful of vials that last about 5-10 spritzes each. Of course it works out for them since I usually end up dragging one of my friends with me to the store and they want to buy the whole store.
-Make it a double! The latest trend in face washes is disposable face cloths with the soap in them. Brilliant, yet costly. Most packs come with a only a month's supply (half, if you use them twice/day) and they usually fold out to bigger sheets, so why not cut them in half and get double the face cloths for your money. Do this with other items such as oversized cotton balls. Even if it’s something you can’t literally cut, “cut” down how much to use recommended by the product’s company, which gets you to run out of their product quicker.
-Turn to nature! Can’t afford to upkeep hair-dye? There are many inexpensive ways to subtly highlight your hair. (Leave the Kool-Aid to the kids). Lemons + hair + sun = sun-kissed blonde highlights, which Chamomile tea can freshen up brown hair.
-Get to the root of the problem! Not many people know about this and I think I disgusted my friend, Laura, when I used one in front of her, but a tongue scraper can replace all your daily purchases of breath mints, gum, mouthwash, etc. My dentist told me that I needed to stop chewing gum and handed me flat Chinese finger trap-looking plastic device. You drag the ridges of it over your tongue and you rid of things you didn’t realize that were lingering from like two meals ago.
-Find more uses out of one thing! Use bronzer as eye-shadow, eye-shadow as eye-brow pencil or wet it for eye-liner, use foundation as cover-up, use lipstick as blush, and some blushes can dual as lip gloss or eye-shadow.
-Find the bargains!
>Some places you can get a manicure cheaper during the week.
>Look for places like Bumble and Bumble, which give free haircuts one night of the week. You will have a student doing your hair, but they’re supervised by professionals and you can get a trendy cool ‘do.
>If you have the patience, stores like Century 21, Loehman’s, TJ Maxx and Marshalls you can sift through racks and racks of clothing to find designer clothing for much cheaper prices. I buy all my jeans about 1/2 of what they normally would cost.
>Sample sales are great deals if you find a good one. Try to get there early since things go fast. OR go at the very end and see if you can get a better deal since designers tend to rid of/donate any of the leftovers from the sale.
-Get dolled up the thrifty way! If you have a big event to go to, get your makeup done at a department store makeup counter. While it’s not mandatory to make a purchase, you are expected to buy something if you are happy with what she did. Some counters have a rate you can pay for a makeover without any obligations.
-Do some research! Unlike most things in life, sometimes with beauty products, you don’t have to pay more for quality. A dermatologist told me that if my sensitive eyes/skin could only handle the gentleness of Clinique, the company Almay is just a cheaper version of it. Though with eye shadow, you’re never going to get the same quality pigments as you would in a pricier product, yet they work the same.
My father did some of his own research and found out that (get this) ALL of the shampoos in a drug store are pretty much the same. However, for color-treated hair, the one shampoo that tested to keep color longest lasting was L’Oreal Color Vive.
-Shop in your friends’ closets! You’ve heard the saying, “one person’s junk is another’s treasure”. This is especially true of clothes. Some of my favorite items of my wardrobe are my sister’s old things. I even went through my father's closet and found an old Christian Dior sweater collecting dust. While he was about to donate it to Salvation Army, I snagged it remarking, "OMIGAD, do you even know who Christian Dior is??" Of course he didn't care, but neither of us would have ever known if I didn't go through his closet. When my friends and I are bored of our own wardrobes, we save money by borrowing each other’s. Sometimes just because something is new to you, it’s fresh and exciting. Plus, it does much less damage to your wallet than any other shopping spree.
-Get creative! When models run out of zit cream they often use toothpaste, which has the same drying effect as acne meds do. (Couldn’t tell you if the “whitening” formulas have a certain effect on your face). Also, if you can’t cover up a zit, Visine works like it does for your eyes; “it gets the red out.”
-Ask for samples! My father’s girlfriend walked into Keil’s one day and said that I wanted to try some of their products but couldn’t get to the store. They literally handed her a shopping bag full of travel-sized samples from shampoo to body wash to lotions, which we divided up and I still use. Of course when I went in to use her tactic on my own, they “ran out” and I only received one measly packet of lotion, but hey, it was something. Stores are happy to give away free samples for you to try their products and hopefully get you to come back. Though I probably take advantage of this a bit too much, especially since my favorite perfume costs $80 and I refuse to purchase it. I take monthly trips to Sephora and request samples of the perfume that I would looove to “try” and they give me a handful of vials that last about 5-10 spritzes each. Of course it works out for them since I usually end up dragging one of my friends with me to the store and they want to buy the whole store.
-Make it a double! The latest trend in face washes is disposable face cloths with the soap in them. Brilliant, yet costly. Most packs come with a only a month's supply (half, if you use them twice/day) and they usually fold out to bigger sheets, so why not cut them in half and get double the face cloths for your money. Do this with other items such as oversized cotton balls. Even if it’s something you can’t literally cut, “cut” down how much to use recommended by the product’s company, which gets you to run out of their product quicker.
-Turn to nature! Can’t afford to upkeep hair-dye? There are many inexpensive ways to subtly highlight your hair. (Leave the Kool-Aid to the kids). Lemons + hair + sun = sun-kissed blonde highlights, which Chamomile tea can freshen up brown hair.
-Get to the root of the problem! Not many people know about this and I think I disgusted my friend, Laura, when I used one in front of her, but a tongue scraper can replace all your daily purchases of breath mints, gum, mouthwash, etc. My dentist told me that I needed to stop chewing gum and handed me flat Chinese finger trap-looking plastic device. You drag the ridges of it over your tongue and you rid of things you didn’t realize that were lingering from like two meals ago.
-Find more uses out of one thing! Use bronzer as eye-shadow, eye-shadow as eye-brow pencil or wet it for eye-liner, use foundation as cover-up, use lipstick as blush, and some blushes can dual as lip gloss or eye-shadow.
-Find the bargains!
>Some places you can get a manicure cheaper during the week.
>Look for places like Bumble and Bumble, which give free haircuts one night of the week. You will have a student doing your hair, but they’re supervised by professionals and you can get a trendy cool ‘do.
>If you have the patience, stores like Century 21, Loehman’s, TJ Maxx and Marshalls you can sift through racks and racks of clothing to find designer clothing for much cheaper prices. I buy all my jeans about 1/2 of what they normally would cost.
>Sample sales are great deals if you find a good one. Try to get there early since things go fast. OR go at the very end and see if you can get a better deal since designers tend to rid of/donate any of the leftovers from the sale.
-Get dolled up the thrifty way! If you have a big event to go to, get your makeup done at a department store makeup counter. While it’s not mandatory to make a purchase, you are expected to buy something if you are happy with what she did. Some counters have a rate you can pay for a makeover without any obligations.
-Do some research! Unlike most things in life, sometimes with beauty products, you don’t have to pay more for quality. A dermatologist told me that if my sensitive eyes/skin could only handle the gentleness of Clinique, the company Almay is just a cheaper version of it. Though with eye shadow, you’re never going to get the same quality pigments as you would in a pricier product, yet they work the same.
My father did some of his own research and found out that (get this) ALL of the shampoos in a drug store are pretty much the same. However, for color-treated hair, the one shampoo that tested to keep color longest lasting was L’Oreal Color Vive.
-Shop in your friends’ closets! You’ve heard the saying, “one person’s junk is another’s treasure”. This is especially true of clothes. Some of my favorite items of my wardrobe are my sister’s old things. I even went through my father's closet and found an old Christian Dior sweater collecting dust. While he was about to donate it to Salvation Army, I snagged it remarking, "OMIGAD, do you even know who Christian Dior is??" Of course he didn't care, but neither of us would have ever known if I didn't go through his closet. When my friends and I are bored of our own wardrobes, we save money by borrowing each other’s. Sometimes just because something is new to you, it’s fresh and exciting. Plus, it does much less damage to your wallet than any other shopping spree.
posted by Lizzy T. @ 8:46 PM
0 comments
