Simple Beauty at a Simple Price

It's amazing how much money we can spend on looking good. The funny thing is, no matter how much effort and expense we put into our appearance, the real wow factor of our look is determined by how we feel about ourselves. That's why make-over shows have such a tremendous impact on the women they glam up. They take someone who is not only looking frumpy, but feeling it too (whether she cares or not), pampers her and compliments her for a day, brings out her best features, and leaves her not only with a great new look, but a new vision of herself. She feels great and it shows. I love watching those programs, but at the end, I always scramble for my make-up and hair dryer because I want to feel good about my appearance, too. As a stay-at-home mom with no car, little contact with the outside world, and a husband who comes home from work just in time to go to sleep, I'm often inclined to skip the make-up and hair each day and just wear a ponytail. I genuinely worry over wasting product when no one is going to see the results. But the real results of my skimping are the feelings I have about myself all day and the thoughts that arise each time I see myself in a mirror. I recently realized that I have done well to find inexpensive yet very effective products to pamper and enhance myself, and saving a little bit of foundation and hair gel at the cost of feeling unbeautiful when I could feel great is really an expense in itself. Particularly for a stay-at-home mom, because emotions tend to dam up within the walls of your house and just run higher and higher over time.

So here are some things I've learned about beauty and how to achieve it low-cost and feel great about yourself. Feeling beautiful is not only an emotional thing, but a visual one: "The way I look makes me happy." And it's also a physical one: "My healthy skin feels beautiful. My silky hair feels beautiful. My exercised body feels beautiful. My smooth feet feel beautiful." They are little thoughts and feelings that provide pleasure and confidence throughout your day. It's nice to be able to go to bed at the end of the day and not think "Yay. Now the blankets and dark can hide what I've been ignoring all day."

Let's start with the basic, most simple thing of all. Drink plenty of water. Once you start giving your body a certain amount of water, it will tell you it wants that amount each day. You are thirsty for that amount . It becomes a self-maintaining healthy behavior. When I was pregnant with my daughter, Ozarka® brand water was the only water that tasted good to me. I have been hooked on Ozarka® water ever since. I buy two huge jugs of it each week for my refrigerator. The cost is about $2.50 a jug. Of the many things you will notice when you drink more water, you'll find you have more energy, your skin will glow, it will not be as dry, and you won't be telling yourself you should be drinking more water, so that's one less nagging negative thought to make you feel bad about yourself. While you're downing all of that water, take a multivitamin. It will improve everything inside and out. Some specifics, your hair and skin and nails and eyes will look healthier. You will have some confidence because you are thinking about your nutrition, and thus another self-nagging thought can ease up. I like One-A-Day® WeightSmart. It costs around $8 and you can pick it up at any grocery store.

Now let's go from the toes up. Beautiful feet really do make you feel like a goddess. Dry, flaky feet and ugly toenails make you feel like a troll. You are not a troll. And you should avoid feeling like one. A quick pedicure at home is all you need. It feels so good to glide smooth feet along your leg. It makes you think, "I have great feet. I should be a foot model." I love the Freeman® Bare Foot Peppermint and Plum line of foot products. They all cost around $3 at any store. And they work magnificently. Remove any old nail polish from your toenails, shape them a little with a nail file, and pamper them with the Softening Foot Soak. Five to ten minutes with your feet in warm, peppermint-scented water is very relaxing, and it's a good time to scrub your toenails with a nail brush to get them clean and get the blood tingling around those cuticles to invigorate healthy toenails. At the end of the soak the rough skin on your feet will be softened and ready to be exfoliated away. Use the Creamy Pumice Foot Scrub all over the soles of your feet. I have never used a foot scrub that left my feet this smooth. At the end your feet feel clean, refreshed, and smooth. Finish off with the invigorating Softening Foot Lotion all over your feet to moisturize that freshly exfoliated skin. You should be totally wowed at the transformation in your feet. Do this again in another 2 to 7 days. Keep it up. Your feet will never be crusty again. Bear in mind that calluses are a natural part of the make-up of feet. They'll never go away. But the skin over them can be moisturized and pink. You will have sleek feet. It feels really good. Enjoy your glowing natural toenails, or brush them with a color of polish that makes you happy.

Between the feet and the head there are really two important, simple things to keep in mind. Having good skin, and having some muscle tone to help hold your figure in place. We all have different shapes to us, but muscle helps keep our bodies in a shape, rather than a blob. For good skin, I love showering with Aveeno® Positively Radiant Exfoliating Body Wash. It has a perky, light smell and it feels great as you massage your skin. Follow up with Aveeno® Positively Radiant Moisturizing Lotion. Both cost around $12 and $6 respectively. Both give your body an overall glow that looks lovely, and the incredible smoothness and the rich moisturized texture of your skin feel really great, and honestly do last for 24 hours. I couldn't believe it was my skin I was feeling the first time I used these products. When I shave with Gillette® Venus razor my skin is even smoother. It's the best razor I've ever used. I hate even a little stubble, and this razor definitely gives me a close shave that lasts. The refill razor cartridges are about $8 for 4 cartridges. Add up the sensation of having a little firmness under the skin thanks to some muscle tone and you're really feeling like a beautiful woman. I recommend Pilates. I think Pilates is such a great, simple, effective work-out that I tell every woman I know about it. A quick 15-30-minute video at home (or do it on your own if you know the technique and moves) makes a dynamic difference in your muscle build. A bigger benefit-the more muscle you have, the more fat your body burns naturally. And you feel so good about yourself after doing the work-out. Any time I don't want to do it, I tell myself I won't get that good feeling if I skip it. It's so great to finish the routine and be able to say, "I did it! And now I can benefit from it." You can't say that if you let yourself off the hook.

All that's left is hair and face. For your face, starting with a clean, healthy canvass is key. Aveeno® offers a variety of skin care lines for all types of skin, and I've been very impressed with the effectiveness of them. They leave my complexion glowing, firm, smooth and clear. I always think, "I should be an Aveeno® model" after I wash and moisturize my face. The prices are great, for a product that has such beautiful results: around $7 for the cleanser and $14 for the moisturizer. Now your face is an even, smooth, hydrated canvass for your make-up. I've used CoverGirl® for years. The price is great-their highest priced product is just around $10-and the products are very professional and look very natural when applied. I have also used Mary Kay®, and although the price is up there, the added perk of having a personal beauty consultant to play up your best features, answer any of your pressing beauty questions, and hand you all of your orders in pretty pink, feminine packages that make you feel like a special lady, is well worth the price. Mary Kay® colors are really natural and attractive too. It's easy to find the right look for you. The key things to remember are a foundation that glides on smoothly and has a sheer finish, a sweep of shimmery pink or pearl highlighting eye shadow for under the brow and around the tear duct, a natural shade of blush on the apples of the cheek, a sweep of mascara on the lashes, and a shade of shadow that matches your hair to accent your eyebrows. Eyebrows make a big difference. I always thought my face was too long. It reminded me of a banana whenever I saw my face in profile. And I always thought accenting the eyebrows was the most unnecessary step in make-up. But I tried it out and was amazed at the difference. It lifted my whole face up, brightened up my eyes, and completely transformed the shape of my face. So eyebrows are very necessary in bringing out your best feature. For a more polished look, finish with eyeliner and one or two shades of eye shadow that are the opposite color of your eye color. Make sure your finished look is natural, and blends evenly.

There are all types of hair out there. I've agonized since I was about ten years old about what to do with mine to make it smooth and shiny. It's very coarse and frizzy, naturally. It has taken me well into my 26th year to finally figure out the right products to make it healthy and smooth and the right cut to show off its best qualities. I really like Garnier® Fructis. Their prices amaze me, because their products have given health and vitality to my hair that no other brand has been able to give. Their products are around $3-$6, and I've never used anything I've liked so well for coarse, frizzy, wavy/curly hair. I can wear it curly or straight (I could never successfully straighten my hair before I started using Garnier®) and it looks healthy, shiny and smooth. It pumps up my natural hair color. My hair has life. I know not everyone's hair benefits from the same shampoo and styling products. But if you have coarse, curly hair and haven't tried their Curl 'n Shine shampoo and conditioners, I encourage you to do so. I've been amazed. As for the rest about hair, I've a big lesson to share about hair stylists. Have one. Find one you like, at a salon you like the price of. Don't be afraid of the cheaper places. They have people who went to school to learn how to do this and have good taste, just like the more expensive ones do. Then go get your hair done routinely. Hair needs to be shaped and tidy or it won't matter much what else you do to style it. When you have a maintained hair cut, it is easy to know what to do with it every day. Find a stylist with a little bit of genius, whom you trust to figure out a good look for your hair and face, and go routinely. You won't be sorry. It's money well spent. Getting your hair cut and maintained is like buying more toothpaste when you run out. It's something you do for life. Just letting your hair grow on its own and cutting it every now and then does virtually nothing for your appearance, and usually ends up in daily ponytails. A haircut once in a blue moon is the real poor use of money here, not a routine visit to the salon to maintain an appearance you like and want to keep.

I was surprised when I added up all the things I do to achieve simple beauty day-to-day. It was actually quite inexpensive. It doesn't cost me an arm to replenish the products I use each day to make myself look attractive. It just means picking up a $5 bottle of this or that at the grocery store when I run out. And the worth of feeling good about myself every day is much more valuable than the price of the bottle. And feeling good about yourself is a free and effective beauty technique that results from doing all the other things each day.