30 Sep Beauty on a Dime

This post is for all the single ladies, all the single ladies (just kidding, it’s for attached chicas as well). It’s expensive being a broad, especially if you’re “high maintenance.” Between hair, nails, clothes and killer heels, the bills can start racking up. Of course we know true beauty is on the inside and all the good stuff, but what do you do when you wanna put your best face forward but your funds are practically nonexistent?

Hair: No look is complete if your ‘do isn’t done. Cuts, colors, perms any other chemical treatment you can think of costs more than we’d like to spend. Years ago I got the bright idea of dying my own locs. It resulted in orange hair. Well, not my entire head, just the roots and the rest was auburn. Not cool. I’m a DIY type girl but when it comes to chemicals, I’d rather stick with the professionals. But the pros are too frickin’ expensive. Bumble and Bumble and Aveda Institutes have cosmetology schools that offer free or low cost services. You won’t be assigned a world class colorist but they’re supervised, advanced students nearing the end of their course work. And if you’re in certain “urban” areas, then you know all too well about the Dominican salons. For $20 to $40 you can get the best blowout of your life. Whether you have the kinkiest kurls or straight strands, these mamacitas can do it all and you’ll walk out looking like a Pantene commercial.

Makeup: Cosmetic companies make a killing off of a woman’s need for the latest and greatest mascara, foundation and any other doohickey we’re convinced will make us beautiful. If you’re prepping for a night out, hit up a high end department store beauty counter for an expert makeup application. I have friends who’ve done this but I’m always so paranoid they’ll get ticked off if I don’t buy the products. When you do decide to actually purchase makeup, sites like Sephora and Ulta always some kind of promotion going on that offers free shipping, deluxe samples with your purchase and other goodies. And don’t forget your local drugstore pretty much has anything you want (who really needs to spend $25 for Dior mascara anyway?). The Sunday paper is chock full ‘o coupons for Maybelline and L’Oréal and the company’s individual sites often have coupons you can print. If you’re super cheap (like me!), you can’t go wrong with Wet n Wild. Seriously, one of the best eyeliners in my beauty arsenal is from their line. At around $1 a pop and in a ton of colors, can you really go wrong?

Mani/Pedi: The summer season is over but that’s no reason to slack off on taking care of your digits. In most areas you can find a salon that offers a $20 mani pedi combo on certain days. There’s nothing like being pampered, but on days where 20 bucks is still too much, once again, your local drugstore is your BFF. A bottle of polish costs a few bucks, divide that by the number of applications you can get out of it and your mani or pedi is only a few cents, versus $20. You can even get creative with designs, like this funky leopard print mani tutorial below.