To ask how much you spend on grooming/maintenance?

[Spice22]

Hello all,

I was going to ask on Style&Beauty but figured the responses there would be quite skewed and so I came here where there would be unbiased responses and traffic.

At the train station yesterday I saw this young lady who looked very well put together. Her outfit was coordinated, nails done, eyebrows done, makeup done but not overly so. The thing that stood out the most though , was her hair. It looked lovely ; highlights and nice cut (ha can't explain well enough) and she just looked like someone who took pride of the way she looks. I've since spoken to my friend about this and the possible cost of such upkeep. That got me wondering how much others here spend on their grooming and upkeep.

Clothes; Makeup; Nails; Hair; Eyebrows; Eyelashes; you get the jist !

Hair - about £40 3 times a year. I HATE going to the hairdresser.
Dental hygienist- £30 4 times a year
Nails - I do my own as I hate the thought of a manicure. I do have lots of polish and nail care things.
Makeup - my weakness. I love high end makeup and probably spend £50 a month on it at least.
Eyebrows - I do my own
Eyelashes - I tint my own
Hair removal - lady shaver and epilator
Clothes - about £50 a month

Hair cut and colour - £140 every 10 weeks

Nails - nothing. I don't often paint them and when I do, I do it myself. I spent £70 on Nails Inc products which will last a couple of years

Eyebrows - nothing. They are quite sparse so definitely don't need to be plucked(!) every day I fill them in with Benefit products

Bath products - I tend to have a couple of baths a month with nice bath products but mainly gifts

I don't routinely have any other beauty treatments as I shave my legs/underarms and bikini line when I can be bothered in the shower.

Clothes/accessories are my big spend - no idea how much to be honest. I think I used to spend about £5k a year if not more. Now maybe £1-2k? I've started buying better brands that look 'classic' like Jaeger but from eBay and Outlets. I'd say that makes a big difference to looking 'out together' and also accessorising well and laying things out the night before rather than choosing what to wear in a rush.

£25 on haircut maybe 2-3 times a year (I'm not in UK - it's cheaper here)
Eyebrows £5 once a year
Don't do nails
Skincare £120ish a year
Make-up £50 a year
Clothes maybe £200 a year?

Not convinced I look 'put-together' but professional enough for work and certainly not scruffy

£45 every eight weeks
£14 moisturiser (Aldi - it's amazing!) once a month
£20 month make up on average, expensive foundation, lipstick and mascara, cheaper brow pencil, lip glosses brushed etc.
£35 nice shampoo and conditioner and hair products every 10 weeks
I do hair removal (epilator) and nails myself
£50 month on average clothes - but I shop around massively to buy new things from eBay or outlets and sales which takes a bit of time.

Haircut £35 x4 per year, no colour or dyes
Make up about £50 per year, ive got a night collection already so I just replace as needed.
Nails I diy and use normal polish but get gels for holidays so £20 x2 per year
Skincare about £30 per year
Clothes mostly good brands from eBay but I also resell clothes on eBay a lot too so only £400-500 per year

Monthly:
Hair £55 this covers cut every 6 weeks and colour every 12
Make up about£20
Clothes- about £150
Never have facials manicures etc, I'm told I have lovely skin, even by my critical mother. I strongly suspect the £40 I spend on hrt every 3 months is a big part of we looking a bit younger than I am

Before I get accused of being competitively frugal BTW, I am aware that I'm scruffier than most MNers would be happy with. I keep my clothes much longer (according to other threads) than most people would, I consider the purpose of clothes to be to keep me warm, keep me comfortable and to cover up my private parts. If I like the way they look, it's a bonus. I do tend to buy things I like but I never spend much time working out what goes together or which colours suit me. I've never had a lot of disposable income and it's really hard for me to spend money on myself.

Livia, do you not walk much? I couldn't get one pair of boots to last for all my walking (& running & cycling, etc) for a whole year, and in all weathers.

It was Hillary Clinton, I think, who highlighted the extra 'tax' of being female.

Here is my spend (male, btw)

Hair - £13 every six weeks.
Shampoo - nothing - have to avoid usage owing to eczema.- (I promise it isn't scuzzy)
Other toiletries £5 month (max) Aldi own brand.
Razors - again Aldi own brand - probably £1/week.
Clothes - don't remember last purchase, probably £10/month max - all Primark.

Mind you - I am not a complete plug about my appearance, and do spend £35 per week on a personal trainer.

Clothes; Nothing this year, on mat leave
Makeup; Hmm, £30 a year? Not much at all: two mascaras, two eyeliners, two foundatios, two powders, three or four lip balms.
Nails; Nothing. Pedicure every month though.
Hair; One cut per year- £20 maybe. Hair is natural colour.
Eyebrows; Nothing.
Eyelashes; Nothing.

I shave my legs etc. Not buying any shower gel, shampoo etc as we have tonnes and tonnes.

I use fake tan, it's maybe £20 per year for that.

I walk a lot - I have a pair of sandals that I have had for several years so I haven't counted those. But I never buy more than 2 pairs of shoes (each under a tenner) per year

Hair 40 x 2 as I get cut and colour and highlights done when abroad in a cheaper country
Skin and hair care is about 20 quid per month, absolute max
I stock up on make up twice a year and spend about 100 per year
Clothes: about 500 quid. Am an m and a, other stories and uniqlo addict so can get a lot for that. It used to be much much more.

I'm quite cheap, I think compared to friends.
Hair about £140 but only every 12/14 weeks.
No nails - trim and file my own as can't have talons/polish due to type of work I do.
Makeup - a bag of bits and pieces that I've had for a few years. The odd new lipstick around £60 and mascara around £40
Face cream - my one luxury - £300 a jar but lasts months.
Scent - Jo Malone Red Roses £120 every couple of months.
Pack of disposable razors if I go on holiday.
Lots of Crabtree and Evelyn handcream.
Sanctuary body scrub, St Ives face scrub, L'occitane soap. Ordinary shampoo and conditioner.
Dentist/hygienist twice a year but don't count that as grooming.

I taught myself to do my own gel nails and bought the kit. Saved a fortune. The varnish lasts ages and only really need to buy acetone now and then. Probably £100 outlay over a whole year, instead of £25 every 2 to 3 weeks, not even including toes. This is my most important luxury that I won't go without is nails. I love them.

I get my hair cut every 4 months or so. £30

I buy expensive make up and love toiletries. Not sure how much but I make them last and only buy what I need.

I do my own eyebrows, I grew them into a nice shape, got them threaded once then stay in the shape myself.

Don't wax

Teeth I did myself buying strips from the US, £35 or something every 6 months I think.

Hair dye myself - £5 every 6 weeks

I buy a few bits of clothes now and then.

Mmmm made me think a lot this...

Nails £40 a month
Lashes £40 a month
Botox 3x a year at £200 each
Hair £60 every 3 months
Lip filler once a year £120
Skincare probably £200 every 3 month
No idea on clothes and makeup, guessing 2k

Shit I need to curb it

Didn't think I was high maintenance. I'm quite plain but my skin is in very good Nic and I am not aged.

Not a lot. I'm very low maintenance.

£5.99 once a month for hair dye.
Cut my own hair.
£1.00 every now and then on deodorant buy whatever is on offer.
£1.00 Dove soap but all the family use that too no not strictly my spend.
Same goes for shampoo/conditioner we all share.
£1.00 Colgate all mine - DH uses Sensodyne.
Don't wear make up.
Don't use any lotions or potions.
Tweezers every now and then for stray eyebrow hairs.
Had electrolysis on lips when I was in my 20's so no moustache for me
Pinch DH's old razers for legs and arms.
Paint my own nails with polish someone usually gets me for xmas Xmas.

£500 on hair every 12 weeks (this is my one big extravagance in life), about £350 a year on makeup, eyebrows £20 is every two or three months.

Wtf do you get your hair done for £500?!?

Forgot clothes - probably around
£100 a year.

I have got quite tight when it comes to spending money on personal grooming for myself but should maybe make a bit more of an efort!

Last got my hair cut in October - cost £25
Sometimes get my hair dyed to cover the greys by the student haidressers in the local college- £17. Or dye it myself - less than £5
Waxing- sometimes do it myself with strips or at beauticians about twice a year- around £30.
Have been getting clear Shellac on my nails as it's the only thing that stops me biting them- £15 every month if I remember to get it done.
Clothes and shoes- think around £150 a year or slightly more.
I pay for exercise classes which is around £20-25/ month- this is important to me- weight control, mental health etc. Also go jogging which is free.
Make up- around £20/ year.
Toiletries-Probably a few pounds a month.

Actually this seems quite a lot

One extravagance I like is Chanel perfume which I ask for Christmas but a bottle will last around 4 years.

Also pedicure once or twice a year. Don't spend anything on eyebrows or eyelashes.

I can't help feeling it's a sorry state we're in when so many women have to spend so much money to feel comfortable in their own skin :-/

I do like having my hair cut (£55), but only have to have it done around every ten weeks or so because I wear it nearly shoulder length now. I've got a few greys, but I'm in my mid 40s, so it's to be expected. I like being middle aged, it makes me feel confident, so why would I hide it?

My eyebrows have always been left as nature intended them (unless there's a really wild, kinky one) as is the rest of the hair on my body these days, I can't remember when I last bought any new blades for my razor, but it seems to hack its way through my leg hair a couple of times each summer. Wish I could wean myself off shaving my legs, I have grown to love my armpit hair, but not quite there with the legs. Bush is, well, bushy, love that too.

I can't be doing with nail polish because once you've done it you have to keep redoing it and I've got better things to do with my time. I do like make up but rarely wear it because I hate having to take it off at night and even I always do that. I do put hand cream on and lip salve every night.

I've spent about £800 on clothes and shoes over the last year, mainly because I lost weight and had to buy loads of new stuff. I used to love shoes, but now they never seem to fit right or be quite what I want.

I'm naturally a bit scruffy, but I have got better over the years (my husband has mod tendencies, so I do try and brush my hair at least if I'm with him) - I find if I don't look in the mirror I can just go with the idea in my head of how I look, which is bound to be OK 😀

I've got a technical job, so I don't think it matters what I look like, I get by on my technical ability and force of personality and I've done alright in life and love, so I can't see that groomedness can matter all that much.

Hydra facial $300 once every four weeks.
Haircut $160 every twelve weeks.
Pedicure $70 once a month.
Make-up zero.
Hair color zero; letting it grey.
Filler in my hollow cheeks $1200. Should last 18 months.

@emsler

Thank you

Meh we spend money on what we enjoy - if it's what makes people happy then why shouldn't they? It doesn't mean that they aren't comfortable in their own skin if they care about what they look like.

It's not my thing but it's no different from spending money on, for example, a new iPad or whatever floats your boat