Beauty is pain. Does anyone else remember hearing this phrase a lot when you were growing up? I feel like anytime I winced getting my eyebrows waxed, any woman within a 5 foot radius would utter this saying – sometimes it wasn’t even the esthetician! This phrase originates from the days when beauty regimens were actually a real fucking drag – foot binding, face powder made from lead, rib removal? Those women in the 1600s would be laughing their asses off watching me flinch during a wax.
Fast forward to 2018, today’s beauty culture is not just about physical pain but also financial pain. The cost of maintaining a beauty regimen doesn’t come cheap. Between all the products and services that we try, use, and rebuy throughout the year, and depending on where you live, all of this could easily add up to probably like a $1000 or more. Which is nothing compared to what someone like Kim Kardashian spends but it’s also kind of a lot when you look at your outstanding student loan balance. Yikes.
But you don’t have to go broke getting $9k ruby facials like Mila Kunis! Here’s a roundup of some cheap beauty shit that is fun to use and works!
Ice Roller
Cost: $12 on Amazon
Pop this in the freezer overnight and take it out when you come home hot and bothered from schlepping your work bag, gym bag, and groceries home. Roll it all over your face and body to instantly cool down and depuff so you no longer resemble a float in the Thanksgiving Day parade. Also great for tired and puffy eyes, headaches, and hangovers!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjplQ-wA-Mu/?hl=en&tagged=iceroller
Dry Brush
Cost: $8 on Amazon
Dry brushing promotes blood circulation and lympathic drainage, gets rid of dry skin, and reduces the appearance of cellulite. Basically, the only thing it can’t fix is your credit score. Just lightly brush your body for a few minutes before you shower – make sure you brush towards your heart to get that blood flowing. And put lotion on after your shower. I made the fatal mistake of dry brushing without lotioning afterwards and spent the rest of the day with scratching a very itchy back.
Microneedle Roller
Cost: $20 on Dermstore
Okay so rolling a device with a hundred tiny needles on your face definitely sounds like a crazy painful beauty trend from several centuries ago. But these little baby pinheads don’t even hurt! Using one of these microrollers helps to promote elastin and collagen production to keeps your skin looking as soft and bouncy like an IRL YouTube beauty guru. It also helps absorb all of those serums and moisturizers that you invested in so it maximizes the ROI of your splurge on Tatcha’s Silk Cream!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmGy4FHD7PZ/?hl=en&tagged=microneedleroller
Tinkle Eyebrow Razors
Cost: $5 on Amazon
Two years ago I went down a YouTube rabbit hole about dermaplaning, which can be $$$ when done by an esthetician, and saw countless DIY videos using the Tinkle razors. Once a week I use a Tinkle to exfoliate and it also gets rid of any unwanted peach fuzz! I’ve only cut myself one time when I was going too quickly but other than that they’re essentially foolproof. I promise you that once you feel how smooth they make your skin, you will get an Amazon subscription for them.
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