As much as I hate the suggestion that someone can ‘let themselves go’ by failing to abide by traditional beauty rituals, over the last year or so, I guess I’ve done just that. From throwing away most of my makeup to letting my body hair grow a little longer than I’d care to admit, I’ve abandoned so many beauty traditions. I’ve partly done this is to save money and free up time to spend on other things, but I must admit there’s also an element of laziness in there too. I just can’t be arsed! Life’s too short to spend two hours a day making myself look pretty.
Let’s see how much I saved and how this made me feel…
Eyebrows - £30 a year
Before I started trying to save money, I’d have my eyebrows threaded by professionals every couple of months. Although the procedure cost just £5 each time, I decided to start tweezing my eyebrows myself at home. There’s just one problem - I’m pretty hopeless! I often get a little carried away with the tweezers and I don’t have the first idea what to do with an eyebrow pencil. So, more often than not, I just let them grow. My eyebrows are lush like a jungle. I feel like a fair haired Frida Kahlo.
How much have I saved? Although some people have their eyebrows threaded every few weeks, I used to have mine done every couple of months. So, at just £5 a go, I’ve saved £30 in a year.
Makeup - £120 a year
Earlier this year, I quit my job without another one to go to. In the 6 weeks I spent freelancing and watching Netflix from the comfort of my own sofa, I barely wore any makeup. As an adult acne sufferer, forgoing makeup for such a long period of time worked absolute wonders on my skin. Sure, I still suffered from the occasional outbreak due to hormones or touching my face too much, but I did see a significant improvement.
When I started my current job at the end of February, I got back into the habit of wearing foundation and blusher each day. I’d do my makeup in the toilets five minutes before I started work but it got to a stage where A. My spots were getting bad again and B. I simply couldn’t be bothered anymore. So, aside from the occasional dab of concealer (which wreaks havoc on my skin all by itself) I very rarely wear makeup these days.
How much have I saved? This is really difficult to determine because I’ve never really been enthusiastic enough about makeup to go out and treat myself to loads of products. Let’s imagine I used to spend £10 a month on makeup (though that does seem like a lot) that’s a saving of £120 a year.
Shaving - £90 a year
Look away now if you’re squeamish or the type of arsehole person who believes all women should be fuzz free at all times. Gonna just come out and say it - I’ve been letting my hair grow, guys. I do still shave on occasions. If I’m getting my legs out (very rare) or I’m wearing a top that exposes my armpits, I’ll reluctantly drag myself to the bathroom kicking and screaming to shave. A bit of armpit fluff doesn’t bother me, but I don’t want people on the bus staring at me like I’m some kinda monster. When the only other person who’s going to see my body is my boyfriend, I just leave it. He’s not arsed. I’m not arsed. It’s really no big deal.
How much have I saved? Apparently, the average woman spends approximately £10 a month on shaving products. That adds up to £120 each year! Since I’ve not given up shaving completely, I do still spend some money, so for the sake of this article, let’s say I’ve saved £90 this year.
Clothes - £2,000 a year
It’s very rare that I go clothes shopping these days. I’ve even introduced a temporary charity shop ban to stop myself buying second hand clothes that I don’t need. This attitude is starting to take its toll though. I’m wearing the same few outfits over and over again and some of my favourite dresses are showing serious signs of wear. A flowery dress that I’ve worn on a regular basis for the last two years has a hole the size of a 10p in the side where the belt loop usually is.
I probably should go shopping soon but I’ve just lost all interest in it. And since I’ve regained all the weight that I lost a couple of years ago, I’d feel bad buying new clothes when really I should just slim down into the ones I already have. Life’s hard when all you wanna do is eat nachos and drink whiskey.
How much have I saved? I used to go clothes shopping a lot. I’d probably spend between £100 - £150 a month on clothes and would have the occasional splurge. So, I estimate that I used to spend about £2,000 a year on clothes. At least. A £2,000 a year saving is huge!
Hair - £140 a year
I’m not a natural blonde and so maintaining my blonde ‘do has been a lot of effort over the last 5 years. Before I decided to start saving money, I’m pretty sure I used to have my hair cut and coloured every three months, costing around £60 a time. Pleased to announce it’s been about 9 months (and counting) since I last had my roots done and I think it’s actually looking pretty good!
In 2015 my hairdresser stopped dying my whole head of hair and started to gradually fade the highlights out so that I wouldn’t be left with really severe roots at the top. This means it’s much more low maintenance and should hopefully get to a dip dyed sort of stage.
How much have I saved? Let’s imagine I completely stop having my hair dyed professionally and just go for a cut every 4 months at £25 a time. That will cost £100 a year rather than £240. When I put it that way, I don’t actually feel like I’ve saved that much money.
Contact lenses - £216 a year
I’ve worn monthly contact lenses since 2010 and for the last 6 years I’ve paid £18 a month for them. In March this year I decided to cancel my contact lens subscription and make do with my glasses instead.
Obviously, wearing glasses has nothing to do with ‘letting yourself go’, but I’ve always been self-conscious of my specs and for years felt much more confident with my lenses in. So, while most people might not see this switch as a big deal, it is for me! Most importantly, ditching the contact lenses has saved me £216 a year.
Total: £2,596
How do I feel?
I’m obviously really pleased that I’m saving so much money on my appearance. After all, the things that I’ve given up are not things that matter. They’re not essential in the slightest. In a way, giving up the above things and ‘letting myself go’ has made me realise that it really doesn’t matter what I look like on a day to day basis. The world isn’t going to end if I don’t cover my face in foundation each morning.
However, at the same time, I do feel like this complete disregard for my appearance has zapped my confidence a bit too. I go around feeling like I’m invisible and I don’t think this is a good thing. I think my recent weight gain has been the biggest contributing factor to my dip in confidence. Because my clothes don’t fit me properly, I don’t feel like I look nice in anything I wear and, when it’s too hot to cover up under cardies and leggings, I freak out.
I miss spending hours getting ready for a night out and walking into a bar feeling smoking hot. I miss wearing nice clothes for work. I miss wearing a dress in the summer and not having my thighs rub together!
I can’t see me re-adopting my old beauty habits any time soon, but I do think I need to achieve a sense of balance and start taking care of myself! I need to step away from my desk and start exercising and eating better. By doing that, I’m confident I can get myself out of this rut and feeling fabulous again.
