CHEAP BUT NOT EASY

Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime

 

 

Here are some sum-sum-summertime beauty products for you to try.

 

Tip Of The Day:  Not one, but two beauty reviews for your enlightenment.   One is to prevent tanning (aka SUN DAMAGE), the other is to make you look tan, sans sunlight.  Both are inexpensive and readily available – which would be my favorite type of beauty product.

 

Tip For The Weekend:  If you live in the TC or its surrounding environs, come on down to Farmington on Saturday to the Scottish Fair .  Stop by the Fest Friends booth and meet me and Larue, not to mention a whole slew of fabulous Fest folk.  I’ll be wearing this outfit again, so you should be able to recognize me toot sweet.

Larue, of course, will be wearing an entirely new creation because she never wears the same costume twice.  She has a (costuming professional) rep to protect, people.

 

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  First, thank you for taking my DIY Beauty Quiz.  I’m always fascinated by the beauty rituals of others, and whether or not you all fuss and futz as much as I do.  My recent beauty putzing involves self-tanning – I’ve been hitting the tanner hard, so I can wear capri pants on camera and not blind the Fox 9 viewers with my glowingly pale legs.

 

My whiteness-reducing weapon of choice is the all new, uber fabulous Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer, available at Target for $7.99.  It combines two of my favorite types of tanners – foam and lotion – into one stupendous product.  Here is my review:

 

Pros

It doesn’t have a strong scent trying to mask the icky smell of DHA reacting with your skin.  So the overall odor isn’t that bad.

It doesn’t dry instantly, like other foams, so you have time to smooth it on evenly.  Thus, less streaking.

It’s moisturizing, unlike most foam tanners.

It hasn’t been discontinued, like most foam tanners.  Yes, I’m talking to you Neutrogena.

It doesn’t take forever to dry, like most lotion tanners.  This stuff is dry to the touch in about 5 minutes, without feeling slimy/slippery/sticky.  You really can get dressed right away, and not worry about streaks or staining.

The color (on me, all skin types are different) is very natural – a nice golden-y glow.

It comes in Fair to Medium and Medium to Dark.  Do NOT go up a color, thinking it will tan you faster – it will just give you orange streaks.

 

Cons

The dispenser doesn’t work the best, so the foam goops up all over the top.

It takes a few minutes to rub the foam in – I like this, as I think it prevents streaks, but it may annoy you.

It turns your skin a lighter color than the regular gradual tan lotions, so you need to use it more often to get a darker tan.  Once again, I like this, as more applications create fewer streaks, but you might get impatient and give up.  Don’t!  You will like the results if you stick with it.

Like all self-tanners, it smells bad.  Just not as bad.

 

Now, I like to look tan (tan cellulite is less noticeable!), but that doesn’t mean I advocate tanning in the actual sun, or worse, a tanning bed.  Not unless you WANT to get skin cancer – in that case, have at it.  I’d rather fake the bake and protect my skin from the sun’s mean rays.  Which is why I was psyched to try Garnier Nutritioniste’s New Skin Renew Anti-Sun Damage Daily Moisture Lotion, available at Target for around $12.  I have sun-damaged skin, and I’m always looking for ways to up the anti (Get it?  Get my pun?  No?  Fine, moving on.):

 

Pros

It is SPF 28, the strongest level I’ve found in a drug-store brand daily-wear face lotion.

It has Vitamin C for surface cell renewal, Magnesium to hydrate and “energize,” and Lycopene to help protect against further damage.

It hasn’t irritated my sensitive skin yet, and it doesn’t sting when I apply it – like some sunscreens do.

It’s very moisturizing, which lessens the look of wrinkles.  It also cured the dry patch on my cheek in three days.

 

Cons

It’s a bit TOO moisturizing, so it takes awhile to soak in.  I would not use this on my eye lids – they would get too greasy for liner or shadow.

It has a VERY strong scent, which will bother some people.

It contains no Retinols, which most dermatologists agree is the most effective ingredient to prevent/cure wrinkles.  However, Retinols have been bothering my skin lately, so for me, this is a Pro.

I still don’t know if it’s going to clog my pores and give me zits.  So far, so good, but it’s so over-the-top thick and moisturizing, I’m a bit nervous.

 

These are my two summer-care products, what are yours?  Enquiring minds want to pick your brain.

 

Motherly Advice

 

Tip Of The Day:  My Ma and her BFF, Cindy, would like to remind us of two very important things.  And no, neither one is to either a. eat your vegetables or b. call your mother.  Although really?  You should.

 

Tip For Tomorrow:  Two new reviews of two new beauty products.  One’s a high-dosage daily-wear SPF face lotion, the other is a foaming gradual tanner, and both are necessary for this Chick this summer.  If you’ve been longing for a beauty product review or two, stop back tomorrow and be fulfilled.

 

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  My mom’s best friend and constant reader sends me the occasional email about my blog.  UNLIKE MY OWN MOTHER, Cindy visits Cheap But Not Easy on a regular basis.  Not only that, she contributes content to this site, from time to time, in the form of frugal tips or important updates.  Here is her latest and greatest:

 

“REMINDER :  Cell Phone Numbers Go Public next month.

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls.  YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.  To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.  It is the National Do Not Call list.  It will only take a minute of your time, and they will block your number for five years.  You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked.  You cannot call from a different phone number.”

 

My own Ma may not read this site, you know, EVER, but she is a font of information – useful, frugal stuff you need to read about, mixed with the occasional Dire Warning.  This next tip is a combination of the two:

 

Every television station in the US will have switched to HDTV by June 12th.  If you haven’t bought your converter box yet, they are still available at Target.  Also, the converter is easy enough to install that a 60+ year-old grandmother of one perfect boy can do it herself without calling her daughter to come over and just make the damn thing work already.

It’s true – my Luddite Mama hooked hers up one Sunday afternoon with no help from me.  And her picture is flawless using just the converter box.  She didn’t need to buy an additional and overpriced-yet-the-government-isn’t-offering-a-coupon-for-it-cheap-bastards HDTV antenna.

For converter box coupons and additional information about the changeover, go here.  Or you can fly in the face of my mother’s frugalness and either get cable or buy a new TV.  See if she cares.

 

Share With The Group – what good advice have you gotten lately from your mother?

 

EDIT:  Yes, I know the telemarketers/cell phone drama is not real, and thank you for your concern (love you!).  However, the phone number for the Do Not Call List IS real, and quite handy.  So if you haven't signed your cell up for the Not Calling, I strongly recommend you do.  Because you ARE charged for solicitor calls, which sucks and is not frugal.

 

Less Green For Your Greens

 

 

Tip Of The Day:  If you live in the TC and you love to golf, chances are you’ve had to cut back on your game due to straightened financial circumstances.  Not any more, my plaid pants-wearing friends.  Municipal golf courses are here to save your day, and possibly your golf game.

For the non-golfers, skip down to the bottom of the post.  There you will find something to keep you entertained for a few moments – long enough for a coffee break, anyway.

 

Tip For Tomorrow:  Important electronic reminders!  If you’ve been living under a rock, or in a land called Denial, be sure to stop back on Thursday to have your bubble effectively burst.  Sorry, but someone has to do it, and at least I’ll be nice about it.

 

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  I don’t golf, but I talk about it on TV.  Last night’s segment for The Cheap Chick on Fox 9 was all about less-expensive golf.  Golf never gets to be classified as cheap – there are too many movable parts to really consider it a thrifty sport, what with the clubs and the bags and the carts and the shoes and the pants and the GREENS FEES.

 

Ah.  Greens fees.  The Waterloo of many a golfer in this tough economy.  Fortunately for us, we live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, as well as 10 Billion Parks.  And many of those parks contain municipal golf courses – which just so happen to be a hell of a lot cheaper than your typical private course.

 

For example, in Minneapolis there are six different muni courses, ranging in difficulty from beginner (Fort Snelling) to really freaking hard (Meadowbrook).  And they all share the same low rates – available for your perusal here.  You can also participate in their season pass programs and patron card programs, saving you even more money on the greens.  To find the Minneapolis muni course that’s right for you, try this clicky-poo.

 

Let’s not neglect the golfers in St. Paul, though.  They have three municipal courses to choose from, located at Como Park, Phalen Park, and Highland.  Highland National Course is the biggest, freshest – it was renovated in 2005 – and also, a tad more expensive.  Greens fees at Highland are $5 more per player, making them a whopping $30 during the week and $32 on the weekends.  However, like golf courses everywhere, the St. Paul muni’s offer discounted Twilight (no, not that lame ass book) and Evening rates.

 

St. Paul also has a cool program for slightly younger golfers.  If you are 29 years of age or younger, your greens fees are just $20 at any St. Paul course during the week.  To get additional info about rates, specials, and customer loyalty programs for St. Paul munis, go here.  And for info about the courses themselves go there.  Bless you, Minnesota, for having such easy to use, easy to find municipal websites.  You make being The Cheap Chick virtually painless.

 

Now, for you non-golfers like me.  Here’s a quick beauty DIY quiz, so I can learn more about how you, the reader, works your look.  Simply answer these questions in the Comments section below.  And remember, this is for science, so please be honest:

 

1.  Do you own a PediEgg?  If yes, how often do you use it – once a day, once a week, whenever you think about it?

2.  Do you use a self-tanner?  If yes, which one is your favorite, and how often do you apply?  More in the summer, less in the winter?  Only before a vacation or special occasion?

3.  Do you paint both your toenails and fingernails?  Just your toes?  Just your fingers?  Do your children do your nails for you?

4.  Do you pluck your own eyebrows?  If yes, how often?

5.  Do you dye your own hair?  If yes, what type of product do you use?  One for covering grays, one for highlights and lowlights, one for an even all-over color?  And which color do you prefer?  Red, blonde, etc?

 

Thank you.  I can’t WAIT to read your answers – I’m always interested in hearing about other people’s at-home beauty routines.  In the interest of fairness, here are my answers:

1.  Yes.  Today I used it for the third time since I bought it last year.  Sigh.

2.  Yes.  I just bought a new foam moisturizer to try; my review will be forth-coming.  I use tanner all summer long, and throughout the year, whenever I feel flabby.  Tanned fat just looks better.

3.  Only my toes, and usually only in the summertime.  I’m trying to cut back on pedicures – I haven’t had one in months and months.

4.  Yes, once a week.  I’m a hirsute lass.

5.  No.  My stylist would hunt me down and kill me if I ever colored my hair myself again.

 

Now it’s your turn!

 

Again With The Thwarting

 

 

Tip Of The Day:  It seems everything is conspiring against me this week – my plumbing, my posting, even my website itself.  So I turn to you, the reader for some advice on what I am to do and what it is you’d like to see.  Also?  I do a bit of thwarting myself.  But with love – it’s a loving thwart.  Which sounds vaguely dirty now that I’ve typed it…

 

Tip For Tomorrow:  It will either be a post on inexpensive day camps or municipal golf courses in the TC.  Depends on what Fox 9 airs tonight – your guess is as good as mine.

 

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  Normally on Tuesdays, my post topic reflects what my Fox 9 News segment is going to be.  You know, the whole “read it here first, and then watch it tonight” deal.  However, we (My XP and I) still aren’t sure which of the two segments I filmed yesterday will air today, so my regular post idea is thwarted.  No big, I can write about whatever airs tonight tomorrow for you all.  I know!  Something to look forward to!

 

Thwart-age number two occurred yesterday afternoon, when the flushing mechanism to my upstairs toilet broke off in my hand.  DON’T ASK.  And did you know that without the flushing dealie-bopper attached, the toilet tank fills up VERY quickly?  And then overflows everywhere?  And that pooling water will then drip down the ventilation duct into your microwave?  Yeah, good times.

 

Which brings me to my question of:  what do you want me to do, and what would you like to see.  Do you want me to include major household repairs in my overall “What I Spent This Week” recap?  Or should that be considered a separate expense, like my mortgage and car payment (which no, sorry, I’m not about to share.  A girl needs a bit of privacy in her life, yes?)?  I’m good both ways, and can make an argument for either including or excluding those expenses.  If I do include major household stuff, do you also want me to include car repairs?  Enquiring minds need your opinions.

 

Speaking of my weekly recap/tracking of expenditures, Jolene raised an interesting point in her Comment:

“I think this is a good test, but we need to see a "normal" week in the life of CBNE.  So far there always seems to be something "special" going on.  Clearly you need a budget for "special" expenses.”

 

Looking back over my recap posts, there does always seem to be something – a trip to Chicago, a birthday here, a Ren Fest there, another outing with my friends.  But then it dawned on me; that’s my life.  It’s always one thing or another.  Looking at my summer schedule so far, here’s what I already have planned:

A weekend trip to Duluth for Twig (what they call their Ren Faire up there)

A trip to Omaha to see my Dad in the musical, Gypsy

A visit from my Big Brother, SIL and Piglet

A visit from my Dad and Stepmom

ConVergence in Minneapolis

A weekend trip to Bristol for their Ren Faire

At least 3 or 4 more birthdays

And at least 3 weekend visits to our Ren Fest, starting in late August (I go to Ren Fests the way some people play softball or golf.  It’s my summer activity, but with no actual exercise involved.)

 

Yeah, that’s a lot of stuff, and it’s all special and it will all cost me special expenses.  But here’s the thing – everyone has special stuff come up all the time, weekly even.  Let’s think about this for a moment.  There are birthdays, graduations for high school and college, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelor/ette parties, nights out with the boys/girls, concerts, fairs, Faires, festivals, barbeques, dinner parties, movies, trips to the cabin… the list is endless and it’s outside of what your normal week-to-week spending would be.

 

Yet because we have these expenses pop up so often, they should be considered the rule and not the exception.  And that’s why I include these expenditures in my weekly recap – so everyone can see how having a good time can add up.  However, given the choice between having fun and staying home, I’m choosing the fun.  Which means I need to learn to curb my spending in other areas.

 

Therefore, given the list of what I’ve got coming up, I’ve given myself an ultimatum.  No more shoes and no more fast food until after Renaissance season is over.  I need neither, I can justify neither, and one or the other has popped up on my list each week since I started this whole deal.  Also?  No more shopping for clothes unless I need something specifically for work.  Example – I have to wear a sundress to an audition (true story), so I have to buy one (I don’t actually own a single sundress.  Weird, right?).

 

I’m sorry to thwart you, my darling Jolene, but there won’t be many normal weeks at CBNE.  Please don’t hate me!  However, I AM busily working on tagging for you the 484 posts I’ve written since 2007.  Which brings us to thwart-age number three – tagging my posts.  I thought this would take a few hours, tops.  Oh no.  No, no, no, no, no.  Each post must be read through, the appropriate tags selected, and then posted on to the post.  Then I have to go back through each post and re-format it, because editing a post screws up its formatting.  THANK YOU, TYPEPAD.  ALSO, YOU SUCK.

 

Therefore, I won’t have every post tagged by Friday.  But if you look carefully, you’ll see that I’ve tagged all of May and April 2009, and that each post going forward will be tagged.  Also, I will continue to tag a past month every day or so, until every post ever written by yours truly has at least one label attached to it.  I won’t let TypePad’s idiocy thwart me!  Not for long, anyway.