Ok, here is an oxymoronic view-point. We are in a credit-crunch and entering a recession which, if the papers are to be believed, will rival the Great Depression in terms of impact felt by Jo Public.
Well, this is EXACTLY the time to only be buying quality. Fast-fix-instant-gratification – wear-once- chuck-on-landfill-site-purchasing not only does not last but it does nothing more than satisfy a quick-fix need.
Well, if you are more interested in a morning quickie than a long and langorous session on a moonlit bay, this is not for you.
Skintflint Diva may be cheap but she is never easy. More bang for your buck, that’s the motto. Gordon Brown would be sooo proud………
So, how to survive the impending recession with style and dignity when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you? How do you fight the good fight without looking a fright? Keep up the war-paint effort?
Well, we are not interested in the one-hit wonders. We are way too old to buy a new frock every Saturday to wear out that evening. Wear out being the operative statement here. We want things to at least outlast the life-cycle of a fruit-fly though, ideally, we are hoping more for turtle.
So, what can’t you afford to scrimp on?
A good haircut.
No, I am not advocating 6-weekly cut, colour and blow-dries at the salon of the latest global-jetset uber-hairstylist. No, I am thinking more of a really decent cut that you can maintain yourself, at minimum effort and cost but does not look as though you are impersonating the love-child of Vidal Sassoon and a Flymo.
I have an amazing hairdresser (Donna,Toni & Guy, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Tel: 01284 717171) who cuts my hair every 3 or four months – depending on how straggly I allow it to get. She cuts, I go, I live. Perfect.
Another area or, as we are still talking of your crowning glory,’hair-ea’ is conditioner. I don’t believe in budgeting. Spend less on shampoo, it’s not on your hair for long, you rinse it off clean. Conditioner can be pretty shabby unless it’s a good brand. One of the secrets of looking younger is to have shiny hair. Expensive conditioner just does it so much better.
My favourites:
Expensive – Alterna’s Hemp conditioner. Hair left very glossy, easy to detangle and conditions equisitely without weighing down the hair. Philip Treacy – Elasticizer’. This is much gooeyer and takes a lot longer to work than the average product but it richly deserves all of the praise the fashion pack, models editors and beauty journalists bequeathe upon it.
In the mid-price range, I really rate Nicky Clarke’s ’60 Second Treat’ which is available in most supermarkets and also Daniel Galvin Jr’s range of organic haircare. His ‘Hangover Hair Repair and Gloss Treatment’ is a product I absolutely love for summer holidays. It is a real shame it comes in a 125 ml bottle which is just a bit over the air-travel allowance. It easily lasts a week for long hair, left on the hair for 20 minutes in the afternoon, after I have come in from a day spent at the beach, I sit on the terrace with my hair wrapped in a carrier bag ‘turban’. Read and then,when I shower it off, I have beautifully soft and fragrant glossy hair, all ready to take me out of an evening for my first Campari and soda of the night.
In the budget haircare range, I have yet to find a conditioner to give the the detangling, moisturisation and gloss that I am happy with.Please let me know if you know of one!
A toothbrush.
You just CAN NOT scrimp on your teeth. The three things that define youthfulness are shiny hair, white teeth and bright eyes. I use an Oral-B sonicare toothbrush and have dome so for about 3 years. It is an amazing brush. I am sure there are others on the market that are better. Once this one ( my second) packs up and croaks it, I will shop around. I love my toothbrush because I drink coffee, red wine and eat dark chocolate so stained enamel is not something I look forward to. With the sonic toothbrush, I feel as though my teeth are getting a much more thorough clean than they ever would manually. With a decent toothbrush, you do not have to spend a small fortune on toothpaste. Also, your hygienist will be pleased as your teeth will not feel as mossy as they may well might!
Body Cream
No, you do not have to spend hundreds on the latest gold-encrusted kilo-sized jar of Creme la Mer. You do have to find a body cream/moisturizer that suits you. We are not made equal – neither is our skin so we need to find a cream that suits our individualness.
I personally don’t spend a huge amount of money on body cream. The most expensive body cream I will buy is a Crabtree & Evelyn body butter in the Naturals range (www.crabtree-evelyn.co.uk) The texture is fantastic. Rich,unctuous but sinks in better than the Body Shop body butters and with a much more enticing range of scents. If I want something a bit more budget, I go for Neutrogena sesame seed oil, sparingly stroked on damp skin and then topped off with Palmer’s cocoa butter lotion. In the summer I cannot live without French cult brand Nuxe’s Huile Prodigeuse. It smells of holidays and is so divine, I can not help to be happy when I smell it. It is a dry oil that can be used on the skin, hair, face. Personally, as someone who has had to deal with the blisteringly pus-filled torment of adolescent acne, I love using oil on the face. The massageing action it requires, helps to decongest,adds glow and generally feels nice whilst relaxing the face. As muscles in the face are attached to the skin, it is of benefit to massage for that youthful lift and glow.
Also, as we are all probably too poor to have our heating on, keeping the hands active should, hopefully, ward off chilblains……
to be continued…….
