Beauty....how much is it worth?

[Fizgig]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Maybe I'm being cynical, but I think if someone is guessing at their costs, it's probably much much more than you think. I would have guessed $400-500/year, DEFINITELY not $1000, but there it is. The truth was in my MS Money file...

[shengmei]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Well I have another question: Do you believe that money spent on maintaining your health should be counted in the "beauty" category when you categorize your fiances?

Lately I have seen a lot of those "beauty supplements". Some of the programs claim miracles but cost $130 a month. I know I won't buy them even through I am extremely tempted. However, If someone ends up biting the bullet and splurging on one of those systems......I wonder if that counts as a "health" expense or a "beauty" expense. Same goes for all the weight-loss healthy foods, etc.

[rob62521]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Let me first say I think the idea of beauty if overrated. Personally, I think being clean and neat is the most important thing besides being a nice person overall. That said, I think society stresses the importance of being beautiful or handsome and so many buy into it. I'm not talking about those of you who told about being this cream or this jelly or whatever. I'm talking about those folks who go through plastic surgery to improve themselves and will only buy a certain brand of clothes and make up and so on. Yet, society judges us on our looks. If you are overweight, many think you are dumb and lazy. If you are blonde, you are a ditz. If you have blemishes on your skin, you are ugly. We love to categorize people and looks is an easy one. Just like some think all old people are stupid.

Thinking back on it, some of my very favorite people would not have been considered "beautiful" by most of society. But their beauty shone from within.

[kealina]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Maybe I'm being cynical, but I think if someone is guessing at their costs, it's probably much much more than you think. I would have guessed $400-500/year, DEFINITELY not $1000, but there it is. The truth was in my MS Money file...

your observation is probably true for some people but i guessed using my logs for the past 3-4 months and giving myself tons of leeway... i spent maybe $5 on makeup and beauty stuff the past couple months but i said $50 for a year which is generous considering i mostly use stuff that's given to me and that i have a large stash i'm trying to use up...
DH cuts my hair and i cut his... my mom taught him as she used to work in a salon... never do my nails, rarely wear makeup, and don't use a lot of lotion because of our climate...
if i had to start from scratch and without my current resources i'm sure i'd spent lots of money but i've been lucky so i don't have to spend much...

this is just in case it was me you're referring to because i wanted to clear the air about my spending as i realize it sounds very puny...

[Fern]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Being in the dating world, the online dating world, specifically, i can tell you that beauty is VERY important for a woman, and the older you get, the more essential it is if you want a date. Cruel but true, i challenge any guy who isn't now happily married to refute that!

[rob62521]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

I bet you won't have many who do refute that, Fern!

[disneysteve]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Let's see. I cut my own hair with an electric clipper I bought almost 2 years ago for $15. I use an electric razor that I've had for years. I don't wear cologne. So I'd say over the past 2 years, I spent exactly $15 on "beauty."

My wife cuts her own hair with a scissors that we've had for years. She doesn't wear makeup or perfume or polish her nails. So I'd say over the past year, she has spent $0 on "beauty."

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Do you want a guy who thinks beauty is everything?

Do we want to join the 'mass' who says people have to have blue eyeshadow to be beautiful?

I sometimes see a beautiful makeup job and think 'nice makeup' but I hardly ever find the person beautful, how could I, I can't see them, only the makup!

[tinapbeana]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

don't remember where i read it, but it was when i was a teen and it stuck like glue: good makeup should look like no makeup at all. i don't wear it often, but when i do that's what i strive for. if it's not a special occasion, i pretty much only wear makeup on days i'm feeling cruddy. must do it pretty well, most folks don't know when i'm feeling, well, cruddy!

[kealina]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

shengmei, i think some items are hard to seperate between beauty and health and i don't even know how i would classify them... especially stuff like a healthy diet, excercise costs, moisterizers, chapstick, etc...

tina, haha i heard that too and it really does stick... i think it was the idea that makeup should enhance your natural looks instead of detracting...
unless i'm experimenting or going for a more playful or exotic look, which happens occasionally, i like to keep my daytime makeup minimal...

[fairy74]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Beauty is as important as you personally make it. True there is an expectation in the society about how a "dream" woman should look, but you can buy into that or not. I probably spend $100 a year on beauty, but I do spend a lot of time outdoors and excercising and people always tell me how nice and healthy I look. Find someone who loves you for you, do your best to keep yourself in good shape and cleaned up and then let it go---a lot of our ideas about beauty are molded by industrial giants who just want to make money selling products, buy them if they make you happy but beauty does not come in a bottle!

[disneysteve]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

True there is an expectation in the society about how a "dream" woman should look, but you can buy into that or not.

My dream woman (my wife, of course ) is one who does not wear makeup, nail polish or perfume, doesn't color her hair (except possibly to cover up gray) and doesn't spend a fortune on haircuts from fancy salons. Before my wife and I started cutting our own hair, we went to Hair Cuttery for $13.

[Ima saver]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

I wear very little make up, just a little eyeshadow and eye liner. I am sure I can get by on $20 a year. I do color my hair to hide the dark roots, but I do it myself. That probably costs another $100 a year. I think the price of make up is a rip off.

[tinapbeana]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

woman i used to work with had eyeliner and lip liner tatooed on: would out to be the same price as buying the actual makeup over time, and she saves herself 10 minutes a day. time is money, i suppose!

[sakigt]

Re: Beauty....how much is it worth?

Without adding in the cost of healthy foods/water.

$6 a month for eyebrow waxing
$60/year for makeup
$50/year on a very specific hair balm I use (Expensive, but a little goes a long way)
$100 or so a year for shampoo/conditioner/teeth whitening toothpaste

Id say thats fairly low maintenance.