The Low maintenance beauty thread

[seasure]

For those of us short on time, money, motivation or all three , what's the best way to look groomed cheaply , quickly and easily ? I can't maintain false lashes or seven step skincare but don't want to look like a mess either!
Hit me up with your tips !

Get your eyebrows threaded very few weeks. Most shopping centres have booths now, it takes 5 minutes, and even if you don’t bother with much else, groomed brows make everyone look better.

I think it's a combination of cleanliness and avoiding anything fussy. So low maintenance haircut/hairstyle, simple skincare: soap, sun cream and retinol (that's all you need by the way for face care), loads of water, good sleep, exercise, simple classic clothes and understated make up.

Clothes that fit well. Some light makeup if you fancy it. Hair in a style that you can manage in a daily basis, no split ends or bad dye job.

Lidl, Aldi do great skincare. Boots and superdrug have some cheap but great cosmetics. What exactly are you after?

The multi purpose oil sounds good
I currently use
Facetheory Oil cleanser and hot cloth
Yul essence toner
Ordinary moisturiser
Face theory primer
Lancôme feint miracle foundation
Benefit hoola lite bronzer
Illamsqua masquara
Mac eyebrow pencil

If I'm not wearing makeup , I'll just exfoliate and use argan oil . I find it very multipurpose so use for hair , nails and skin

I don't use retinol or any extra sunscreen should I be swapping some elements of my routine for this ?

My hair am fed up of . I do the curly girl method . All I hear is how it's soooo low maintenance and easy peasy but I find if I don't soak and refresh my curls everyday they look horrendous and frizzy. I use blueberry conditioner to cleanse and curl creme to style - it looks fine day one but that's it . My hair is also v long . I need a decent cut . I haven't had anytime to look after my hair or nails after dc3. I used to do a diy manicure every fortnight and have regular trims . I feel like it's all too much effort now but I feel so unkempt . Just trimming nails and hair in a bun . So boring .
My clothes am happy with . I have a few smart casual blazers and nicely fitting trousers , some simple tunic/ blouses and a few nice smart flats from Aldo/ Dune and recently purchased a Radley handbag I like .
It's the beauty thing I feel am not keeping up with . I wear understated makeup but the exhaustion of a non sleeping toddler has taken a massive toll on my skin and it shows . I'm tired and losing the will .

I have a 3 step routine for AM & PM. It takes 5 minutes.
Minimal make-up. I use Clinique Super Double Face Powder as a base, bit of blush, touch of mascara and a lip crayon type thing.
I get my eyebrows threaded for a fiver every month to six weeks.
I paint nails myself. Toes dark red (goes with all outfits). Fingers using Dior nail glow (clear with a hint of a French manicure)
Hair is in a short bob. Colour it myself every month. Have it cut every 8-12 weeks to coincide with any occasions.
Capsule type wardrobe. For summer this is denim, blues, white cotton blouses, washed out pink Ts, stripes, trainers, sandals, espadrilles
And that’s it!

i like longer term solutions e.g I'm too lazy/skillless to do anything with my lashes so i get them permed, i put my £££ into skincare so i don't have to bother with makeup, so on the day to day I'm pretty wash and go with infrequent, more intensive maintenance. I'm now gearing up to get my first botox! exciting!!

This sounds like my kind of thread .

I've found that since I massively upped my vitamin c intake indvertantly (had serious health problems and the only liquid I could keep down was water with pure lemon juice in) my skin has become amazing, its made me look ten years younger. My skin was looking very sad and wrinkled before, and its not the water as I drank just as much water before. I did read that vitamin c assists collagen production though, so perhaps that's what it is. Dentist says my teeth have improved too.

Pressed post too soon! I rub Vaseline I to my nails every night before bed (tip I learnt on here) and they've never been better, so much stronger and look like they've been buffed. Great for when I don't have time to paint them.

blameitontheneon, how do you take your vitamin c?

rhubarb I just add pure lemon juice to water, I drink around 3.5 litres of water per day and tend to make it fairly strong to taste, but not gagging or wretching strong!

Its made my teeth very white too, I was a bif worried about whether the acid was damaging my tooth enamt but my dentist laughed and said my teeth were better than ever, and it was much gentler than any whitening products you can buy.

Do you use fresh lemons and squeeze your own or something else ?

No bubbly I just use lemon juice concentrate, like the stuff which comes in the lemon shaped squeezy bottles, but I buy the big bottles of it, usually in with the baking products in the supermarket.
I do make sure I just use pure lemon juice with nothing else added.

Brilliant that sounds much more manageable. I had visions of a fruit bowl over flowing with lemons ! Think I'll give it a go.

Haha nope, that would be a pain!! I also finds it gives me much more energy.

I mentioned it to my hospital consultant and she gave me a 'well duh" look and said that was why it had been used for centuries in many places as a tonic to drink, particularly effective when you first wakeup. She was, and is very enthusiastically pro me drinking lots of it, as are all my doctors.

Arrgh was meant to be

That's surprising you could drink enough lemon juice in a day to have that effect

Ooo I do lemon too, it's amazing isn't it!

As for routines in an attempt to sort my skin out I use obagi fx series which is not cheap but my god has it made a difference to my skin. Took me ages at the beginning as it's 5 creams one after the other, but now takes about 5 mins. After that is on I put mac mascara and some Victoria secret lip gloss. Total of 10 min and I'm sorted. That's all. If I have a night out then of course concealer (Bare Minerals) and foundation (also Bare Minerals).

As for hair, I totally struggle with it. I have that hair that looks messy all the time unless I've straightened it.

I do good skincare - I'm on the fantastic skincare threads. However I wear absolutely minimal makeup, often none. What I do wear, I often apply on the go - blusher stick, lipstick, both of which I can do without a mirror, sometimes quick touch of mascara or eyeliner while I'm waiting for DD to have a wee in a public toilet.
I have VV short hair, no styling needed unless I've got hat hair...
Often wear ear studs - pearl, diamonds or white gold.
I try to drink lots of water, herbal tea etc, & I like fruit infused water & lemon water too, & always carry a refillable water bottle. I gave up caffeine nearly 20 years ago, & haven't ever smoked or sunbathed, & I've never been much of a drinker. I'm late 30s with zero wrinkles. That is probably partly down to my skin type though, as it's on the oily side.
I used to paint my nails a lot, haven't done it in over a year though. Nail polish can look great but it should always be neat, no chips & not growing out. Nails clean, equal length. Regular moisturiser helps a lot to reduce scruffy cuticles - I put a generous amount on at night, a couple of times a week. I have a mini tube in my bag for after hand washing, too, I always choose one that smells nice (TK Maxx are good for this).

I'm trying the vitamin C thing out.
By coincidence I ordered the Nuxe dry oil yesterday, for the first time. I've been contemplating it for ages.
BubblySqueak - I buy the PLJ bottled lemon juice as it's convenient. It doesn't last long once it's open - a few weeks I think, but I usually get through most of it before it needs tipping away. Handy for cooking too.

confused yes it is isn't it!!

Rach well, I guess it could be the blood of baby unicorns I've started bathing in, but the lemon juice seems more likely, the timing ties in more :) . For me it was an unexpected side effect, my consultants were surprised I was shocked it had that effect, so I guess its better known than I thought.

Thankyou for starting this thread! I am that winning combination of lazy and vain. Can anyone recommend an easy fake tan that will look natural on my deadly pale legs but won't require constant exfoliating or reapplying etc.? Thanks in advance.

Can any recommend a good, cheap base coat for nails please? I currently use just beige nail polish but it doesn't do a great job of preventing staining.

Propolis I love the Garnier summer body one, seems to give the most natural colour, at least on me, doesn't clog my skin if Ibise it on my face and smells of apricots rather than the awful fake tan smell :)

Ok, I don't have any tips.as at the moment is wear minimal make up BB cream, eyeshadow, tinted lip balm and mascara.
But I have a huge dilemma that I really don't know what to do about.
I'm currently 8 months into growing out a pixie cut. Absolutely loved it always looked tidy and styled but had to have it cut every 4-6 weeks. I started growing it out as I was jealous of all my friends with long hair that wore it curly. That was the only reason. My hair now looks awful, it's kind of inverted bob but neither long or short.
Do I chop it all off again?? Am I just bored or would it make sense.
If it helps when it was long I was useless at styling it and the majority of the time it was in a ponytail.