Tons of products and time spent in front of the mirror are just not worth it. Of course, a ‘chic’ girl should have the prefect style with glowing skin, hair and nails. But if you are not swimming in money, in these times of economic crisis, the priority is to take care of yourself within your means. I have gathered for you the best tips to look like a diva at reasonable costs.

COLOUR TRICKS

Instead of purchasing separate eye shadows, go for palettes. You do not need to buy a huge one, a simple trio or quad of colours are more profitable than individual colours. Another good idea is to diversify the purpose of cosmetics. For example, use your fabulous lipstick as blush, gloss or even as eye shadow! Black eyeliner and black eye shadow? One is enough! You can wet a thin brush and trace a black or chocolate stripe with powder shadow or make a bold line with eyeliner skimming the eyelashes and blending with a sponge brush into the eyelid.

L´Oréal Infallible Eye Shadow contains ultra concentrated colour pigments, for an intense finishing and can also be used wet as eyeliner.

DOWNGRADE YOUR CHOICES

Some luxury creams are excellent, as are some affordable ones. But many women think they must buy luxurious skin product to have results and they don’t realise that many good, non-expensive formulations are waiting for them in the supermarket. Challenge yourself to downgrade your anti-aging face cream. Some popular brands are consistently reliable, because they have huge resources to throw at research. Your skin will soon feel the benefits of the advanced technology and results will be noticeable.

Pond´s Age Miracle Day Cream is formulated with intelligent Pro Cell Complex, a potent combination of six bio-actives that stimulate your skin.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL PRODUCTS

Your pocket is empty but your vanity case is heavy. I understand: you do not want to compromise on anything! The solution is to start choosing products that fulfill more than one function such as hydration and sun protection in one bottle or even better, the BB Cream (Blemish Balm Cream); these lightweight emulsions combine hydration, anti-aging treatment, sunscreen and foundation makeup altogether. The perfect cocktail to look like a pro while saving time, money and space.

Revlon Baby Stick is a lip and cheek bar that gives you a perfect flush of colour and soft dewy finish with a non-sticky feel.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector is an illuminator, moisturizer and protector that helps to illuminate your natural glow.

HAIR DECISIONS

HAIR DECISIONSYou love to walk out of the salon with your hair freshly blow dried, but how many times a week is it reasonable to pay for it? Your goal should be to try to maintain it as long as possible by spraying your roots with dry shampoo before it starts producing oil. There is no substitute for a great haircut by a great stylist so spend a little extra cash to go to a high-end salon where the top hairdresser can recommend a style to suit your face. The right cut will give you a well-manicured appearance even without a blow dry.

Toni&Guy Dry Shampoo adds texture and volume and makes hair look freshly washed. The advanced formula leaves no white residue.

TO THE LAST DROP

Have you ever wondered how much money

is wasted when the dispenser fails to get to

the bottom of your costly cream bottle? To

utilize all the product, sometimes the solution

is to cut the tube in half with a pair of

scissors and close it with foil. I must also

say that many of us abandon our treatments or daily care before we even finish using them because we are lazy or we decide that they do not work.  To give results, products need consistency and time! So, before you dismiss them, give them at least one month to know if they deliver what they promise.

DUTY-FREE DEALS

If you are traveling, stop at the duty-free

stores to find deals. Duty-free stores offer

great products that you would use every

day, and they sometimes have special kits.

And even the regular offers are between 10

and 60 percent less than in the regular

retail stores.

SMALL, MEDIUM OR LARGE?

While tested products like shampoos are  better in larger presentations, I do not recommend buying the larger versions of face or eye

treatments because it increases the risk of

contamination. A big mistake is to share a

product with your mom or sister by

transferring half of your cream into another container. In laboratories, the bottles are thoroughly disinfected and filled in white rooms to avoid bacteria. Even if you wash your own container well, the risk of product contamination is still 99.9 percent. This risks not only the product that is transferred to the empty container,

but also the mixture that is left behind in the original bottle.

USE LESS

Haven’t you always seen an advertisement for toothpaste, where the toothpaste completely covers the toothbrush? This image is publicized on purpose to increase sales. But your dentist will confirm that you can get your teeth just as clean by using a quarter of what the brand recommends. It is the same with skin treatments. There are diminishing returns at higher doses of anti-aging creams, meaning that more quantity doesn’t translate to more improvement. In fact, there is an increased risk of irritation that you should be concerned about, so don’t overdo it.

COLLECT SAMPLES

From hotels, public events, beauty counters, family members… All women take samples from wherever they can get them! So when your perfume finishes and you are about to buy a new one, stop! It’s time to pull out from the bottom of the drawer the samples you have been treasuring and use them all. It is a good exercise to explore aromas before deciding what fragrance you should purchase.

WRITE A RECIPE BOOK

In countries like Pakistan, there are no excuses! If you are broke because of your expensive beauty regime, it means you did not pay attention to your grandmother’s or aunt’s valuable tips. Many of the fixes for your small beauty issues are in the kitchen, grocery or drug store. Every woman should write her own beauty recipe book and collect other recipes from family members about miraculous beauty potions.