In this state of lockdown, grooming has become an exercise in simplicity.
In my normal life, I wear make-up each day, I visit a nail salon every couple of weeks for a manicure and new colour. I enjoy infrequent facials and occasionally splash out on some lotion or potion to enhance my beauty regime.
In my lockdown life, there seems little point in wearing make-up, and the salons, hairdressers and nail-bars are out of bounds.
I haven’t let myself go completely to seed, I hasten to add. There are some non-negotiable habits that I maintain, regardless of whether or not I am in quarantine.
I couldn’t consider not shaving my legs, for example. That would be a step too far! I also apply moisturiser and body lotion each day, sun-screen on my face and hands and a spritz of scent.
I am enjoying giving my skin a rest from cosmetics and have been treating it to regular home-facials. To be fair, the end result is just as good as when I spend big bucks on getting a professional procedure.
The current lockdown and the requirement to do things for ourselves has given my frugal heart licence for expression.
I am so very glad that I took the leap a couple of years ago to allow my hair to be its natural colour. I was uncomfortable with the cost of having to visit the hairdresser so frequently to have my roots touched up.
I noticed my first silver hairs when I was in my 20s and at the time that I made the decision to embrace my silvers, I was having to touch up my roots every three weeks.
I won’t lie, growing out my dyed hair (brunette) to achieve a natural head of hair was excruciatingly slow. But when I got there it was oh so liberating. What surprised me the most was that I actually loved my new colour, it was a much better match for my skin tone and I received many compliments. It has also saved me a swag of money.
The thought of living in lockdown with a growing stripe of regrowth and no way of getting my roots touched up would have been a source of agony to me a couple of years ago.
My hair still needs an occasional trim however, but with true pioneering spirit I have this week, researched how to cut my own hair by watching a YouTube tutorial. I followed the instructions carefully and am very happy with the result.
It is quite possible that I will have no need to visit a hair salon in the future. Same with my nails. There really is no need for me to visit a nail salon when I can achieve a similar result at home at a fraction of the cost.
There are so many ways that money can be saved in the pursuit of beauty and good grooming.
For example, yoghurt and honey mixed make a wonderful face mask, olive oil combined with a little salt makes an effective body scrub and coconut oil is a fabulous all-body moisturiser. I use all of these homemade beauty product substitutes on a regular basis.
However, there are a few non-negotiable items that I can’t whip up in the kitchen and cannot live without. I can’t live without sunscreen with a high SPF, which I wear on my face and back of my hands every day, rain or shine. A facial moisturiser – not necessarily expensive, but necessary all the same. A good eyeliner, black mascara and a nude, matte lipstick and that is all I really need.
Except for scent. My biggest indulgence and must have is a nice perfume.
There are some things where cheap as chips is just as good as the equivalent at high end cost, but this principle does not apply to perfume. My signature scent is Estee Lauder’s White Linen, and has been since I was 19. I will never tire of the fresh floral fragrance of white flowers with green notes and what I imagine as the cool, crisp smell of springtime.
There is nothing that makes me feel more elegant and feminine. Simple as that. And given that I am l becoming ever more low maintenance in the beauty and grooming stakes as a result of lockdown and my own frugal tendencies, I contend that a little luxury is permissible.
With the money I have saved from doing my own hair and nails, I can maybe plan on splashing out on a new scent to add to my stable, when life returns back to normal.
Something to look forward to.
Quietly Quaintrelle 