4. Work with What You Have
Instead of mindlessly adding to the clutter in your closet, take a moment—okay, a weekend—to evaluate what you already have in there. Invite a brutally honest friend over for your own version of What Not to Wear. Start by purging your mistakes, excesses, and wistful reminders of sizes (and proms) gone by; it’s only when you’ve cleaned your closet that you can really see the tees for the forest-printed dresses. Listen to your friend’s honest opinion of what makes your butt look big. Now, switch channels and think Project Runway and work creatively together to improve what you’ve got. Consider tailoring blazers and skirts to fit better, or altering hems, sleeve lengths, and even buttons for a second lease on life. Play with layers to make your basics work harder. For example, layer menswear vests over floaty dresses and floaty blouses under shift dresses for more mileage and variation. Belt in your tent dresses, mix and match your patterns, and look to accessories like tights, bold jewelry, and scarves to pull new looks together.
Now, offer to return the favor for your friend. (And yes, you can also return the brutal honesty on what makes her butt look big!)
5. Make Do with Your Makeup
Selection of $1 items from ELF Cosmetics
Fall’s cosmetic counters can seem like candy displays to beauty addicts, with all those new flavors, scents, shiny packages, and colors calling out to be tried. They’re especially dangerous for your pocketbook because even though they feel like small purchases, they add up in your bag and your bank account. I’ve banned myself from stores like Sephora, because the last time I went in for lip gloss I came out with $80 worth of makeup brushes and—gasp, I can’t believe I’m admitting this—a $100 lash enhancing treatment. What amazes me most is how much money we spend on items we already have—I mean how many mascaras can you possibly need?
I’m planning to skip the beauty emporiums and counters (except for the ones I haven’t hit up yet for free samples), and go straight to my local drugstore for knockoffs of fall’s hottest shades—a $6 bottle of mauve nail polish is much more budget-friendly than a $30 bottle. There’s no pressure in the drugstore to buy the latest long-lasting lippy or magic mascara wand, and even better, there’s no conniving sales person shaming me into protecting my parched dry skin with a $200 cream.
Also, big chains like Walgreens and Target carry a host of professional makeup lines for less—I especially love the Jemma Kidd and Sonia Kashuk lines for Target. And hello, you can’t beat the super-affordable ELF Cosmetics, where everything is $1!
Even better than cheap is free—ALWAYS ask for free samples—and even better than free is homemade; whip up your own spa treatments in the kitchen and mix the leftovers of your half-used lipstick tubes to create your own new shades. Finally, there’s always the “natural look,” which won’t cost you anything and never goes out of style.
The great thing about challenging myself to be a “recessionista” this fall—other than being able to pay my rent—is that I can take personal pride in my appearance. I’m pulling my looks together with a little creative thinking and savvy bargain hunting, not just blindly buying up what everyone else is buying. The added bonus is that I’ll be able to sleep a lot sounder too—and beauty sleep is priceless!
