How to look well groomed when you are poor

[Chamomiletea]

We are on a very tight budget.

All the threads I see revolve around:

Nails
Hair
Skin
Simple but elegant clothes

All of these require money! I literally can't afford the hairdresser or to get my nails and eyebrows done.

How can I do this at home, cheaply but well?

Also I need a new pair of boots for winter I can only afford one pair, we live in the country I was thinking some short hunters? I would love some leather ankle boots has anyone seen any that are cheap but classic?

Any money we have is going to savings for my massive dentists bills :(

Have you thought about the MN School Run Dress idea? Just one or two outfits that you know you look good in and you can change into quickly before you go out.

I don't live on a farm but I can get pretty messy on a home day catching up with big jobs (today it's spring cleaning curtains, unblocking the garage sink, defrosting the freezer, you get the idea...). Then 15 minutes before it's time to go I freshen up and get back to my public persona. The outfit I'll put on today is a casual tshirt dress + boxy jacket, so not expensive but it's good enough to meet the "power mums" at Music School .

Edit to add: if the dark dyes you have used have ammonia in them then yes they will have bleached your natural hair. So when the colourb4 has worked you will be left with the bleached hair. But colour b4 doesn't do the bleaching.

I am a SAHM living on a farm too, although my little ones are a bit older (10,7 and 2) and I tend to go for well fitting jeans and plain tops, either cotton or fine knit depending on the weather. At home I chuck a fleece over, and wear my Muck Boots.

For school run/ play dates etc I change my jacket and shoes, I have a few smart jackets (navy Joules tweed blazer and H&M/Zara boucle jackets) and a couple of pairs of leather boots (one tan and one black). I go from scruffy farm hand to relatively smart Mum at school in two minutes, with a swish of lip gloss.

I keep my nails short and clean, and make-up natural. There are Mums at school that are far more stylish and polished, but I hope I have a sort of natural, country girl next door kind of vibe!

What kind of look do you want? You could get some leather Chelsea boots from the local saddlery that would survive a muddy walk on the farm, and clean up quickly to look smart-ish for the school run? I have some Dublin black Chelsea boots that withstand everything I throw at them and they still look presentable.

Do things that will make you feel good. I feel more together when my bedroom is tidy and I can find my clothes brush. Drink lots of water - don't know if it makes any difference but I makes me feel as though I'm taking care of myself (rather than eating and drinking crap). Wear knickers and bras that vaguely reflect the colour of your clothes. Stand up straight, tuck your bum and stomach in, nice straight shoulders and do some crunches, lunges, squats, planks and a few arm exercises when you can be bothered. Find an exercise that you enjoy and that will make you sweat.

Well-fitting bra. Hand cream. Keep a comb, lipstick/balm and hand cream in your car so you can mend yourself quickly when you park. Natural fabrics. Tidy eyebrows and nails. From time to time, bung any old oil that you happen to have available on your hair before bed as a conditioner (probably not beef dripping).

Clean shoes (I use baby wipes in between polishing) and brush/spray dye any tatty suede. Keep them reheeled and re-soled.

Get my husband to fold the laundry. Don't know how he does it but he can transform a months-old mountain of jumbled-up rags into neatly sorted, uniform piles of beautifully smooth clothes. But he can't pair socks. If my husband isn't available, then iron as many things as you can bear. Wash and iron inside-out if possible. I've just ironed my skinny jeans for the first time ever and it's a revelation.

Machine-dye anything that's beginning to look tired or faded. Sew buttons and re-hem before you need to.

Even if all this doesn't make any difference, doing them is a good way of avoiding things that are even more boring. That can only be a good thing.

How much time do you have / wish to spend on your appearance? Eg nail painting at home takes around 30mins one eve and 15 another eve for touch ups. Hair dying is much more time consuming but less frequent.

I commute and work FT (partly from home) and prefer to spend my available leisure time on exercise. So I'm comfy and often scruffy for school runs: I feel fine about myself with no make up or "grooming". There's a huge range in terms of what women wear/how much time they spend.

For work, I like to look reasonably smart.

Weekends will depend on what we're doing!

Supermarkets have cheap boots.

I like the country look - it suits my environment however in a past life I was a very fashion forward person.

I have about 15 minutes in the morning to shower and do hair but my hair is really thick!

I think a new pair of shoes and staying on top of eyebrows etc will make a world of difference...

And getting my teeth done. I hate smiling now

When you buy clothes, keep to whichever darkish colour suits you best - you can then get away with putting lots of classic outfits together on comparatively few items of clothing.

When I was skint for a few years I just didn't go to the hairdresser. I brightened my hair with a supermarket box of dye - kept near my natural colour. Then grew it longish and cut it myself (videos on Youtube) when the ends needed it. I also found some good simple hairstyles on Pinterest to keep it up/neat.

Keep your eyebrows groomed, it really makes any face look well cared for.

You don't have to have your nails done at all, just short and neatly filed.

Pinterest is really great for ideas and tutorials on grooming stuff, btw. And Youtube.

Doing your own nails is really easy, you need an oil to soften cuticles. You can use sweet almond oil. You also need orange sticks and emery boards. Total cos of these is about £4 for the lot. Poilishes can be bought for next to nothing if you arent wanting opi and china glaze ones But you need a topcoat for a mani to last.

Brows are easy. I shape and tint my own, I use a pomade too. There are lots of good brow products out right now that suit any budget, dont get a pencil though. You can use a matte eyeshadow that matches your hair colour or the colour you tint your brows if you choose to. I tint my lashes too. It just means I look less of a mess when I'm not wearing make up.

People rave about superdrugs skincare range, and also the body shops. I have heard many good things about them but havent tried them myself. The Ordinary products are amazing and very affordable, same as nip and fab.

Hair isn't my forte at all. I just braid mine or throw it in a pony tail, or use a curling wand. I dont get mine cut because I buy too much make up and I am unwilling to make that kind of sacrifice I keep my hair in good condition with moringa oil, which can also be used in a skincare routine.

Clothes dont have to be expensive to look good. I splurge on jeans but wear affordable tops and nice jackets. I have scruff days and then the next day I'll look quite well put together.

I agree - get your eyebrows done once - Superdrug only charge £5 and our local one does a brilliant job. Then just check daily and keep on top of any stray regrowth.
Agree about training college haircuts. I used to go to Toni & Guy in London. All 'trainees' were professional hairdressers learning how to do new, advanced cutting techniques. the results were great and the hair cuts grew back really well too. But it took hours. Set aside a whole day if you want cut and colour too.
Rimmel is the best cheap make up.
Can't advise on nails - mine are so awful I don't dare go to a salon - all weak and splitting. I just paint and trim them at home. Buy really sharp nail scissors. That helps.

icant can you recommend and eyebrow/lash tint? Budget friendly please!

Agree Rimmel is fab! It's all I use.

As a PP mentioned, if you have the time/energy to iron your clothes (even the things you don't usually iron) it makes a big difference and will probably make even more of a difference to how you feel about yourself.

I'm talking about your standard casual t-shirt and jeans that you probably don't iron - do those and you will probably be surprised at what an effect it has!

Zilpashatpin I have a dyelure one, they do a gel one (which is crap) but they also do one that has a gel colour and a liquid developer. You could use your hair dye if you have a spoolie, but you cannot use this on your lashes. There is always henna too. Plenty of them on amazon. I think they are about £6 but last for ages, I do mine twice a month, because one go isn't enough for me and I like mine quite dark without looking like one of those on fleek people.

Millifiori, Dont cut your nails with scissors, Use a emery or salon board and file in one direction. These are so cheap. The splitting is probably being caused by the scissors believe it or not. Get an oil to treat your cuticles with and rub this into your nail bed too. After a week or 2 of doing this daily your nails will be so much healthier.

Thanks icant!

I would also add, when you do buy some new boots, immediately have them resoled before you've worn them out of the house, it should only cost a few quid and this way you will get far more wear out of them as they will last a lot longer.

Re nails, not much looks worse than dirty finger nails.

If you can't, or don't want the hassle, keep your nails painted then just keep them tidy and use a brush to keep them clean. A drop of oil, whatever you have in the kitchen, at night can replace hand creams.

Silky really? I'd never realised that, also how much do you pay for re-heeling? Round my way it's a bloody tenner and my heels wear down within a couple of weeks abandons boots/shoes for trainers because I walk unevenly.

A simple cheap smart outfit could be;

Dark jeans in your preferred cut.
Simple top/vest in white/cream/tan/red.
Navy blazer.

Flat ballet style shoes or loafers.

I use moustache dye on my eyebrows - apply it with an orange stick or a mascara wand (both reallly cheap on amazon).

Colourb4 will just bleach your hair to an orangey yelllow. It won't restore your natural colour.

Not so. It doesn't bleach hair at all. It removes dark dyes. If your natural hair is mousey brown then that's what you'll have after using colourb4. I've used it many times.

I guess that must depend on your hair colour and what has been done to it before, because ColourB4 definitely turns mine orangey blonde, and that is nowhere near my natural colour. Works well to take me back to a paler base, but definitely doesn't take me back to my natural colour.

Whitney, the dyes you used will have done that to you hair, not the colour b4

Nope. I've used it. My hair is naturally dark. I ended up with hair that looked like a yellow orangey wig

Yes but what were you removing from your hair?