Beauty budget
May 22, 2008 by Haidee
What is your most expensive beauty product and how much did you spend? What is your cheapest yet tried and true product?
Aside from some Chanel make up I bought at Belk on a particularly bad day about six months ago, mine might be my tinted moisturizer from Dermalogica. Typically around $36-39, I found a site that seems to have them on perpetual sale for $31.
Anyway, I ask this question because I am coming to the realization that I am cheap when it comes to skincare. Sure, I’ll splurge on a $120 facial at the Boars Head, but at home, I grab a bar of soap and slather on old moisturizer that came from my stepmother’s free sample stash. That’s not good.
But I don’t know what to spend my money on and what not to spend my money on. So I’m reaching out to you guys for ideas. I know one already…water…and that is practically free. I know I need to drink more water. But besides that…what do you find works from both the high end specialty manufacturers to the run-of-the-mill mass market drugstore options?
I’m very simple when it comes to health and beauty.
My biggest expense as a guy for the long term is cologne which is upwards of $40 per bottle and lasts for 1 year. The best is Johnson’s Baby Oil.
Baby oil has worked well over the years. I’ve tried different lotions, Cocoa Butter and Vaseline, but the results with Baby Oil have proved most beneficial. Keeps my skin looking radiant.
i bought Elizabeth Arden’s Prevage eye cream for $190…..although I didn’t find it as effective as Kiehls Abyssine eye cream for $35 which is a relative steal…no more dark circles!
Thanks for the info, guys. Zikki, your skin is flawless. Perhaps I’ll try Baby Oil. Although I am stuck on Dermalogica partially because of its fab fragrance.
Supa, excellent recommendation for Kiehls Abyssine eye cream. You’ve surely saved someone loads of money! I’ll definitely be giving it a try. I’m approaching 30 and want to keep those lines at bay!
Not sure if this is the best place to ask these questions, but it kinda fits with the site.
First, what is Caspari, the store on the downtown mall? And why have I never seen anyone in there? It is a huge space for a place that doesn’t appear to get much foot traffic.
Also, do any of you frequently shop at any of the stores on the downtown mall? I know everyone loves how it’s a bunch of boutique shops instead of national chains, but wouldn’t we get more people in all of the stores if we had one or two name brand stores to draw people.
That’s a good idea for a post, echo.
Yes, echo, excellent question to ask and one I’ve debated with friends ever since moving to Cville. The downtown mall could be so great in terms of shopping and really just meandering with friends on a sunny day, but it is a bit lacking…I’ll get a post started!
I’m a downtown mall shopper. While I know I can’t completely avoid them, I don’t like chain stores for browsing/window shopping because nothing every seems unique and surprising.
By the way, I drafted a Caspari rant for cVillain back at Christmas time. Beautiful stuff, but the staff seems permanently parked at the desk.
Kyle, find The Upstart’s Caspari rant. If you don’t want to post it, email it to me at echovillain AT gmail DOT com.
I could go in and get it, but it wasn’t particularly well written, so I don’t really want to post.
It came out of a trip there to get a present for my boyfriend’s mother. I was looking at silver trays and the one I liked was scratched because they were storing knives inside it (brilliant idea!). I was there for at least half an hour before settling on the piece and was never approached. On top of that, when I showed the damage item to a sales person, they made no attempt to find a boxed one in the back or a suitable replacement. It was the last Saturday before Christmas and no one on the staff was on the floor. All were behind the counter. What a missed opportunity! That’s a day when sales people should be out there helping last minute shoppers with their impulse buys!
I wound up going around the corner to Artifacts, which has become one of my favorite stores on the Downtown Mall. I bought myself some presents there and then got a gift for my boyfriend’s mother at Quince.
I haven’t stepped foot in Caspari since. I’ve always loved their paper goods, but it’s easy to find cute bev naps and note cards made by other companies.
Thanks for the compliment Haidee.
I now have a question. Most of the exfoliating products I use are by Origins and used to use Dove Exfoliating Soap, but I don’t think they make it anymore. I ask this because of ingrown hair after shaving and I have found that exfoliating helps stop my problem.
Anyway, what’s your recommendation?
Are you looking to prevent ingrown hairs? If so, Tend Skin is a fantastic product that works beautifully. It’s nationally available at Sephora, but I buy it locally at Oasis.
Thanks TheUpstart. They’re not as bad as they used to be, but trying a new product always helps. I will give you feedback as time goes.
Careful though…you can exfoliate too much and worsen the problem. A good toner should do the trick and not shaving against the grain! Don’t worry…the ladies like a little brittle.
Advice taken. I’ll definitely keep it trimmed and not worry too much about shaving everyday.
/Very nice pic.
He’d kill me for posting this, but my boyfriend is trying a new $50 tooth whitener system that came in this itty bitty tube. I can’t tell yet if it’s working since he’s been addicted to crest strips for years, and his teeth are very white from them, so they do work quite well. The new 5 minute, once a day kind is even easy enough for me to remember to do it now and then.
Another post idea, though I know the site isn’t all about this beauty stuff… where to get a good haircut. I’m embarassed to confess that I still go back to DC and I’ve been here almost 2 years now. And up there I’m only using the elisabeth arden red door spas, so it isn’t anywhere fancy. They just seem to be able to give me what I want when I don’t really know what I want.
There was some hair discussion on cVillain a while back. There were many salons mentioned, but I put a plug in for Virginia at Reflections. A search on cVillain might give you more info. FWIW, I don’t think the original post was about hair, but I could be wrong.
Ask and ye shall receive.
Thanks
saraj - I’ll want to know more about the new whitening system. That’s a good price if it works well.
And this is the perfect place for a salon review. Be on the lookout for CvilleStyle’s shop directory with reviews. We’re working on it now!
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