Five Tips for Getting a Haircut on a Budget

May 19, 2009 01:00 PM | Comments (2) | Posted in budget beauty, beauty advice, beauty tips, hair care

A good hair day puts you in a great mood, and a good hair day that lasts several weeks, if not months, is pretty much priceless. But don’t tell your hairdresser that. While we don’t suggest you sacrifice your locks to an unimaginative stylist, or cut your own hair (leave that kind of crazy behavior to the boys), we do suggest that you stay on budget.

Beyond donating your hair to charity or going for a minimalist style that you can improve with products, these five tips will get you a good haircut for less.

1. Bring a picture and be clear about what you want. Whether you’re going in for a simple trim or a dramatic change, ask for exactly what you want. That way you can avoid getting ripped off for a la carte services you didn’t ask for in the first place, and you can leave with the look you originally dreamed up. A cheap, cheap haircut isn’t worth it if you have to follow it up with another appointment to fix it, or you have to spend hours every morning taming your hair, or you have to buy a set of hats/wigs to cover up the mess.

2. Let someone practice on you. Get an uber-cheap or even free haircut at a training session. Aspiring hairdressers need someone to practice on and that could be you. Sound scary? No worries, a pro is always on hand to make sure everything goes according to plan. Call your favorite salon or a nearby beauty school to see if there are any opportunities. For starters, check out Vidal Sasson’s promotion page.

3. Ask friends and coworkers with great hair for their connections. What places do they go to get their hair cut? How much did they pay? Sometimes this is the most efficient way to find an affordable hairdresser. Plus, if your friend has a long-time relationship with a stylist, you could get a good deal - like free coloring.

4. Find a coupon or special. It makes so much sense, yet so many fail to do it. A little research goes a long way. Look up coupons online or call up some salons and ask when they’ll have an upcoming special (don’t forget to dig into the details; a special may not be all that special after all). Salons all over your town offer up deals from time to time, so just make sure you’re in the right place at the right time!

5. Get your hair cut on a Monday or Wednesday. These are the least trafficked days for most salons, so your cut is much-needed business and your money will go far. Plus, you’ll get lots of attention when it’s slow. Downside: typically, the best stylists only work during the busy times. If you choose a high-end salon to begin with, however, you should be good.

Are there any tips you can add to this list?

Best Budget Mascaras: Community Knowledge Project Wrap-Up

April 14, 2009 07:00 AM | Comments (6) | Posted in budget beauty, beauty tips, budget mascara, editor picks

Great mascara is a make-up must, so we asked you for your favorite budget mascaras and you offered plenty of worthy options:

-It seems all you ladies can’t get enough of L’Oreal: the brand’s Voluminous mascara was your best drugstore bet for budget mascara.
-Cover Girl came in a close second, thanks to their LashBlast, Fantastic Lash and Volume Exact mascaras.
-The third contenders for best mascara on a budget were Rimmel London‘s Sexy Curves mascara and Glam Eyes mascara.
-A couple readers liked Jane Max Lash for it’s non-brittle formula and inexpensive drugstore price.
-Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Mascara was a reader favorite for it’s $6 price tag, and lengthening and thickening abilities.
-When you do decide to break your budget and buy more expensive mascara, you choose department store brands like Lancome Defincils mascara and Clinique High Impact Mascara

New York Runway Jewelry, Dress Agelessly, Bobbi Brown in Boston and more

March 16, 2009 09:00 PM | Comments (0) | Posted in web round up, beauty tips, budget accessories, bobbi brown

This Week in Chic:

Factio Magazine is getting great deals at Billion Dollar Babes Sample Sale Featuring Chaiken that is today only!

Fashion Fille supplies some major shoe porn and ponderswhat makes shoes so damn fantabulous.

Fashion Pulse Daily can’t get enough of Subversive Jewelry’s new collection, seen all over the New York runways.

Don’t dress trendy, dress agelessly. Fashiontribes shows how.

Quinta Trends wants to by all the new collection of Argentinean shoes Luz Príncipe, because It loves it

Runway To Retail checks out the up-and-coming talented fashion designers of FAME 2009!  

Do you know which 13 states have 10-day no-tax holidays, and how they will affect you? Get the skinny on Sales Tax Holidays from The Budget Fashionista.

The Fashionable Gal is going to see Bobbi Brown in Boston!

Dailymakeover.com Offers Fun Virtual Makeover Tool, Beauty Tips and News

March 13, 2009 07:00 AM | Comments (1) | Posted in advice, budget beauty, site review, beauty tips, dailymakeover

Everyone loves a fully stocked resource: get everything you need, all at once!  Dailymakeover.com  wants to be your “one-stop-shop” for everything beauty related: find beauty tips and tutorials, beauty related news, product reviews, a “makeover” community and tons of interactive virtual make-over content.  Their tagline, “Refresh, Reinvenet, Repeat!” and even the website’s name Daily Makeover, underscores how much they want users to come back over, and over, and over again… and often.  While they do have a lot of stuff, all of which is fun to browse through and frequently updated, Dailymakeover.com is not necessarily the best website for actual research. 

The Makeover Studio: The virtual makeover tool is fairly new, and offers hundreds of different hairstyles, cosmetics and accessories to try on your uploaded photo.  Full access to thousands of choices, however, requires a rather pricey membership of $14.95 for three months.  Plenty of other websites offer free virtual makeover tools as well,  though many of them use dated technology and styles that are no longer on trend. (Taaz, InStyle, Beauty Riot, for example.) The Community Makeover section showcases the latest and most popular versions of user virtual makeovers.  Some of the most well received makeovers have nearly 11,000 views and 300 ratings.

The Celebrity Hairstyles: Dailymakeover.com is the brainchild of Rachel Hayes, former beauty editor of Cosmopolitan.  She’s big on hair! And it shows - the Celebrity Hairstyle section is huge.  Find hairstyles by event (Date Night Looks, Fashion Week styles,) mood (Emo,) and even face shape (Square Face Shape.)  And, of course, by celebrity (Ellen Degeneres): thousands of celebrity hairstyles are sorted alphabetically by name (for example, Victoria Prat), accompanied by a style description (“curly flurry”) and helpful key styling tips: “light application of styling spray” and “large hot rollers.”  Lastly, each hairstyle offers a “try it on now,” button; click it to instantly jump to the makeover studio program.

The Beauty Tips: Though there are hundreds of beauty styling tips (”How to Make Your Eyes Pop” and “Night Cream for Sensitive Skin” for example,) most are very short.  These articles really are just tips; not full tutorials.  Keep in mind: you can sort by views or overall rating and number of comments, as a shortcut to get to the most popular (and therefore often best) articles first. 

The Product Reviews: The product reviews section is still growing.  Many other websites have older, more established and much larger databases with user generated product reviews.  (For example: Amazon, Drugstore.com, Makeupalley.com, Beauty Product Reviews.)

The Verdict: Sure, for browsing.  Dailymakeover.com offers fun tools and loads of tips and new ideas for experimenting with your look.  Fortunately, Dailymakeover.com is well organized and manages a tricky balance between professional and user generated content; there are enough staff created content that sounds authoritative and expert, while constant updates by users themselves provides endless pages of new stuff to look through.  On the flip side, Dailymakeover.com is still growing, and lacks full tutorials and a larger database of product reviews. 

Best Home Beauty Remedies: Reader Advice

June 28, 2008 06:00 PM | Comments (4) | Posted in diy, beauty tips, reader advice

We’re usually all about asking readers for tips on where to buy the best beauty and fashion products on a budget, but we have to say, these days our shopping budget is being stretched migh-ty thin. Meaning we need to be more frugal than ever, but we still want to be fabulous—we just can’t help ourselves. We know your auntie/grandma/best friend has shared some kind of home beauty secret with you (using stuff we probably already have; Kathryn, for example, has extolled the virtues of a simple bottle of olive oil), and now we’re asking you to share with us. What’s your favorite super-cheap at-home beauty secret?

image courtesy of Olives101.com

Faux Bronze Glow: Beauty Trend 2008

June 12, 2008 06:00 PM | Comments (1) | Posted in budget beauty, summer, beauty tips, bronzer, make up, skin

What: Skip the (unhealthy) suntan in favor of summer’s best bronzers.

What the experts say: Tanning is so passé, but appearing sun-kissed is still as striking as ever. Yet, choose your bronzer wisely.

“The big changes in bronzer this year are the shift from shimmer to matte, as well as placement,��? editorial makeup artist Elke Von Freudenberg tells us. “Now we’re using bronzer to contour: under cheekbones, along the sides of forehead and at the bottom of the chin. Find a warm honey bronze; this works great on almost all skin tones without being too red, dark or orange. And don’t overdo it; nothing looks worse than too much bronzer.��?

What we say: Anything that mimics the look of spending our days frolicking in the sun without actually having to subject our skin to dangerous UV rays sounds perfect to us. We love the faux glow Charlize Theron flaunted at the MTV Movie Awards, and we’re willing to bet we can fake it just like her on the cheap. Sephora’s Bronzer Powder SPF 15 helps us fake that trip to St. Tropez we’ve been dreaming about—all while protecting our skin against the sun. Sure, at $15 it’s pricey—but the added SPF makes it worth the cost. For all of us whose skin tends to gush oil during the summer months, Jane offers Oil-Free Bronzing Powder, which gives us a gorgeous sunless glow while not clogging pores or emptying our wallets ($3.69). Our personal fave: Wet ‘N Wild Bronzzer Compact. Not only does it come in a variety of tones perfect for all types of skin, but also it doesn’t streak when you sweat. For $2.99, that’s a deal worth its weight in gold…er, bronze.

Photo: Getty Images

 

Ten Budget Beauty Tips From a Professional

November 14, 2007 08:43 PM | Comments (8) | Posted in budget beauty, beauty tips, make up tips

Our friend Melissa, a true beauty expert, gives us the scoop on the budget beauty tips used by industry professionals. Here’s her ten tips:

1. To dry nail polish in a hurry, spray nails with PAM Oil Spray. (note: this really does work)

2. Olive oil can be added to bath water for a skin softener.

3. Toner/Astringent—Use witch hazel instead. No need to dilute—use full strength. You can also rinse with a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar after cleansing—it balances out the ph of your skin.

4. Cut back on the amount of shampoo you use. Do the same with toothpaste. The manufacturers want us to use more, so we buy more.

5. Keep your pantyhose in the freezer, and they will last longer. (note: remember to take it out at least 30 minutes prior to wear, so you don’t freeze your gams off)

6. For great lotion, mix one-part lotion with one-part vaseline. It works better than plain lotion, and, depending on the cost of your lotion, you can stretch its value. (Note: This totally works)

7. To prevent hair pins from falling out, bend one prong in a “V” about halfway up and insert in hair. It will stay.

8. Old lipstick tubes, thoroughly cleaned, are great for purse-sized pill boxes or for pins.

9. Use hydrogen peroxide as an inexpensive nail bleach.

10. For an excellent facial, mix dry oatmeal and water into a paste and spread on face. Lie down and let it dry. Wash off with warm water.