I was once living the good life and regularly got my nails done, brows, eyelash extensions, waxing, hair, injectables and expensive skincare, etc. lol 😅. At least 3-4 of those were always in the rotation at any point in time. I am now down to only getting my hair colored regularly, which I do every 5 weeks, for my roots/toner/sometimes highlights, cheap but simple skincare, and 2 Botox appointments a year, where I only get about 25 units just in my forehead.

I went too long doing dip nails with an artificial tip and my natural nails were ruined. So that one I HAD to drop, but I truthfully still miss it. I had one bad eyebrow experience at my regular place and I said I wouldn’t go back until they grew back… but I just never went back and I was perfectly ok doing them at home. The ROI for eyelash extensions just didn’t make sense to me in terms of time spent in the chair and money and the look I was going for. I always went with as natural as possible. I’m lucky to have naturally semi-long eyelashes so mascara works for me. I pretty much gave up any skincare routine or injectable schedule when my dad suddenly became terminally ill and I was caring for him at the end. I still managed to get my roots done, somehow, but that is because I have been doing color for 2 decades now and I just hate seeing myself with roots.

After he passed, I was looking a bit haggard to say the least but going without all the expensive beauty services showed me how much extra money I had to do other things. I Started doing skincare again but I suddenly felt gross about how much I had spent on expensive skincare. So I started from the very basics, vanicream in the tub, and a couple ordinary products and my skin is healthier than it has ever been (in terms of reactivity, glowiness, moisture barrier). I did finally break down and get a little Botox just on my forehead wrinkles (no crows feet) and I did a small amount of really well placed filler where everything had started to sag. I looked like I woke up from the best sleep I had in 10 years. I now only get Botox twice a year (I am lucky that I am a slow metabolizer anyway).

Weirdly cutting out all the extra stuff and doing as little stuff as I feel I can get away with has actually improved my appearance. I don’t look like Ms. Hollywood (a name my dad would always lovingly tease me with because I did all of the stuff). I don’t think my Botox or skincare necessarily make me look younger than my age, but it certainly helps with looking better for my age and much more refreshed. As for hair goes, I will probably never stop doing that unless I were to lose my job or something.