The Price of Beauty

When enough is enough, but still not enough...

Beauty maintenance can be one of the most time consuming and costly upkeeps a big city lady has these days.  From mani's & pedi's, to highlights & blowouts, all the way to waxing here, there & everywhere, and lasering the rest...  where does it end?! Unfortunately in this city, it never ends.  I took the time last night to add up just how much time and money I spend a month in taking care of my appearance and I was shocked.  I spend somewhere around 15hours and $450/month on keeping this whole package (my pointer guns are motioning in circles in front of my bod) presentable... YIKES! While one day I'd love to have my very own Maloof-inspired spa wing in my estate where I can throw pamper parties weekly, let's just call it like it is - I'm a 25yr old grown up kid working in the plummeting music industry who loves dining out, drinking my emotions, and has a fascination with over tipping... there I said it! So this month I was determined to find more cost effective ways to keep up my beauty regimens to even out my champagne shopping habits.  

Recently I’ve learned that skincare is one of the most crucial ways to stay feeling and looking healthy.  This is also one of my biggest downfalls! Growing up I never had acne or zit problems so I never saw the need in properly removing my make-up every night or washing my face before bed. To this day I'll admit after a proper night of debauchery, it takes every bone in my body to pit stop in the bathroom and wash my face before passing out on marshmallow mountain (that's what I call my new very expensive & very fluffy mattress) and sometimes, it just doesn't happen. It is only now in my mid-twenties, that I realize how disgusting an unwashed face can be, not only for my pillowcase, but more importantly for my pores.   I began having my facialist do micro-dermabrasion ($150) as well as cleansing facials monthly, but it just became too expensive!  Per the recommendations of some of my favorite co-workers, I decided to try some at-home facial mask recipes as an alternative and offered to host a girls night for it.  

EXPERIMENT #1 - Homemade Aztec Clay Masks

The menu: Green Tea Aztec Clay Masks, 2 bottles of a highly recommended Rose, 1 bottle of Grey Goose, and a tasteful array of appetizers from the Whole Foods deli.  

The guest list: 4 chipper girls, 1 eager girly boy, 2 of the world's cutest yorkies, & a senior citizen Chihuahua named Charlie.  

We started around 8pm nibbling on appetizers and catching up while we prepped the masks. The first one we tried was a mix of Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay ($10), Green Tea, Lemon Juice, Rose Water, and a pinch of love!  We took turns applying a thick layer of the green mask on each other from the hairline down to our necks.  Then while waiting for the masks to dry, we broke open the Rose.... this is where the fun began.  

Around the 5 minute mark the masks began to harden and it became progressively harder to talk or make any facial expressions.  By minute 10, the masks were starting to dry and the wet clumps made us all look like the wicked witches of the west.  By the 20minute mark, our masks started pulsating and I laughed so hard at the fact that I couldn't laugh, that I pee'd my pants (man down!)... After a solid 30minutes it was time to remove the mask.  We used an exfoliant cloth ($8) also purchased at Whole Foods and removed the mask with warm water.  It felt like I had just washed my face for the first time - I was glowing!  

We proceeded to polish off the champagne and move onto the B&V portion of the night…

EXPERIMENT #2 –  B&V  “Biore & Vodka”

The menu: 1 Bottle of Absolut Vodka,  1 Box of Biore Face Strips  

The guest list: 4 moderately buzzed girls, 2 snoring yorkies, & a senior citizen Chihuahua, still named Charlie.  

Don’t be fooled by the name of this experiment, we just drank the vodka (with a splash of soda!) and Biore’d our pores away.  The Biore® deep cleansing pore strips ($14) have been around for years and in my opinion have been seriously over looked!  These little guys REALLY do the trick.  Try the combo pack, which comes with 7 nose strips and 7 face strips.  I like to cut the face strips in half and use 1 piece on my forehead and 1 under my mouth.  The best part of these strips is ripping them from your face and actually getting to see everything that was removed.  Gross, but yet oddly satisfying!

THE AFTERMATH

The guest list:  4 drunk girls Googling pizza places that deliver after 1am

The casualties: 

2 Bottles of  Taittinger Rose Champagne                          $49.99 x 2

1 Bottle of Vodka                                                            $19.99

14 BioreFace Strips                                                         $14.00

1 pair of soiled VS undies                                                 $12.50

3 Drunk Text Messages to a boy who did not respond     PRICELESS

The next morning I woke up feeling like a new woman, but wondered if it was all worth it.  I ended up spending just about the same amount of money and way more time as I would have on 1 facial at the spa, but was able to share this wacky experience with good friends, good booze, and regretful text messages that made me laugh, smile, and cry the next morning….

I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Until next time my blackhead free followers...

xoxo

Peach