Zlittle Frugal Living

I’m a big fan of make up especially, lipsticks. It seems like I every time I go to the mall or regular retail stores, I feel like I am committing a crime if I don’t stop at a cosmetic counter/area. The temptation is overwhelming. Do you have the same problem as me? Nowadays, there are so many cute cosmetics with a different looks, colors and styles. All of them claim they are the best, they can make you look younger, and on and on. I love color a lot and I love to play with colors.

Even though I have tons of lipsticks, it seems that it’s never enough. I want to have a complete color collection that matches all of my outfits. Or maybe it’s just my addictions. Several times en I bought a new color which I thought was a new cool color for me, I got home and found out I already had one of a similar color. Then I ended up having so many lipsticks in similar color or slightly different. That’s really bad bad bad bad ( like my 2 years old niece said) ….and a waste of money too–quite the opposite of my frugal nature ( I know that!!..I try to forgive myself for this

As you all know that we can’t keep cosmetics for too long. Let say for 10 years. There’s a limit on how long we can keep cosmetics for our safety reasons. The best sign on when to throw your make up away is when the color changes or an odor develops. Get rid off them. Most of cosmetic use preservatives to fight bacteria. The reason of color changes or odor develops is because the preservatives may no longer be able to fight bacteria.

Here’s a few simple guideline for how long you can keep your make up in

• Mascara: 3 months ( for this one is a MUST)
• Liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months (for this one is a MUST)
• Oil Free Foundation: 1 year
• Nail Color: 1 year
• Concealer: 1-1.5 year
• Lip gloss: 1.5-2 years
• Powder: 2 years
• Blush and Bronzer: 2 years
• Eye shadow: 2 years
• Eyeliner: 2 years
• Lipstick: 2 years
• Lip liner: 2 years

BUT…….In my opinion, basically, there’s no hard and fast rule on when to throw cosmetics out. I believe we can keep make up indefinitely as long as it looks and smells all right and the consistency doesn’t change. But there are some products that really sensitive and the rule it’s not working.

This season is about natural fresh looking color. Emphasize the assets that you already have Nude or natural lip color for lipstick is in now. I used to get really tempted to buy lipstick which is in season. But now since I have so many lipsticks I want to be more frugal and find creative ideas to use what I already have to create a new color to suit me.

So I came up with this idea…. If you have a lot of lipsticks in bold colors that are too bold to wear everyday, here’s the trick: buy a nude lipstick. First apply lip balm or moisturizer on your lips, then if you like to use lip liner, frame your lips thinly ( I don’t like to use this because if you are are not careful you can make your outer lips darker) then with a lipstick brush, fill the lips with bold lipstick color first. Make it even. Then apply the nude color on top of it, and you are done. Believe me you can have tons of new colors that you create by yourself. And you don’t need to buy a new lipstick that’s matchy matchy with your outfit. Simple but frugal.

Do you have some new tricks with your cosmetics? Anything related to cosmetic stuff. Please share yours. I’d like to hear them.

How many times do you think you should do a pedicure manicure at a nail salon? What would you rather do, save your money by doing it yourself at home or spend your money by having other people do it for you. Share your opinion with me….

Last Saturday, I went to a nail salon to have my nails and toes done. It was the first time in my entire life that I actually paid someone to clean my nails–WHAT?? Where are you coming from? Even a GEICO cave woman does that. I know you won’t believe me. Well, it’s not that I am so cheap, but most of the time I don’t like to spend money especially when I know that I can do it myself.

But this time, my friend forced me to go. She told me that there is a big difference in DIY to DBOP (do it by other people). She insisted that it’s worth any penny. Well, because of my deep curiosity and to test her statement, I decided to go. I paid $30 to have my nails and toes done.

The owner was really nice. He even gave me a small therapeutic massage just to try it out. My only concern was the chair. It was too tall/big for me. Supposedly the chair’s function is to massage your back, shoulder and neck. I was too short for the chair. Instead of massaging my back, it massaged my back head and that made me dizzy.

My first manicure/pedicure experience was OKAY. It’s good though, but a frugal person like me always thought there’s no reason to waste money when you know you can do it yourself better. Besides that, $30 only last for 2/3 weeks. Then your nail and toes get dull and your nail polish get chips again. If you go trice/ twice a months you’ll spend $90. That’s a lot of money.

I think when we go to a nail salon to do a pedicure manicure, we pay more for relaxation and glamor. Instead of doing it yourself, you just need to lean back on your massage chair, read a magazine and let someone else do it all for you. Who doesn’t want to be pampered like that?

Some people are too lazy or don’t have time to do it themselves and would rather have someone else do it for them at a nail salon. There’s nothing wrong with that. But for me, I always think instead of spending my money for nails and toes, I’d rather spend my money for other things that are more important than that.

The reason I want to go to a nail salon this time is also because I want to see the process step by step. I want to learn so that I can do it myself, perhaps even better. I watched each step of the manicure/pedicure process carefully. My eyes ran around to read all the labels of the products they used. I asked them questions about some of the special products/tools that I’d never seen before.

My conclusion is… doing a pedicure/manicure is EASY. You can do it yourself at home in just 30 minutes. The pedicure manicure kit and essential products are available at many retail stores. Doing it yourself is a lot cheaper. For $50 you can get the entire pedicure/manicure kit and essential products which you can use for up to 5 or more times. That means you’ll save: $30 x 5= $150.

I personally think it’s good to do a manicure/pedicure at a professional salon at least once a year (especially after a dry winter). The reason is because there are certain products/tools the professional salon has that we simply don’t have at home such as melting wax, electric wraps, etc. After that, you don’t need to go to a nail salon once every 2 weeks. That’s a total waste of money. You can maintain by doing it yourself at home once every 2 or 3 weeks, or as many as you want. You can even do it everyday before having a shower if you want.

Here’s what I did. I bought all the pedicure manicure kits–the exact same ones that a nail salon has. I also bought, foot bath, foot cream, lotions, foot scrub etc… and wualllllllllllaaaa… I can have a beautiful nails and toes the whole year long without breaking my wallet.

For more details on how to do a home pedicure and manicure, check out these pedicure and manicure step by step

I love coupons. There’s a certain satisfaction that brings on a proud smile if I can use coupon when I buy something, especially if the coupons come to my door. One time I bought Sunday newspaper for $2 . I heard there are a lot of coupons in the Sunday Paper. After I checked
carefully, one by one, I came to the conclusion that some coupons are simply “not for me” and I can’t use them at all. Well, I ended up throwing away my $2 bill without gaining anything. Since then I promised I won’t buy Sunday newspaper again. I decided that I will just wait for coupons come to me/my mail box.

Actually the reason I don’t like the Sunday Newspaper is because most of their coupons are for big projects that you would only occasionally need. Like roofing, tiling, building a deck, upholstering your furniture and etc. You know something that we don’t do or use often. If they have grocery coupons, the coupons are actually for new products or brands that I’ve never heard before. What I need more are coupons for daily necessities.

Recently, I’ve got so many free good coupons on the mail. Some locals and some general like Doves, Victoria Secret and etc. I get some coupons regularly from my 90 year old aunt. I was a little bit sad though because most of the time I end up throwing away coupons. Not because I don’t want to use them but because of the timing.

A few reasons why I throw away coupons:

1. Expiration date. Some coupons have a short expiration date. For example a week. Because I don’t go to grocery every week, then I have to throw away the expired ones.

2. Some coupons that I received are coupons for new products or products that I don’t normally use or wear.

3. Time difference. For example restaurant coupons. Some restaurants coupons are not valid for weekend (Friday,Saturday and Sunday) when we usually go out for dinner.

Coupons mean money to me. I’m sad because while throw away some coupons, I believe there are so many people out there might need that specific coupons.

I have been thinking of giving away coupons that I don’t want and share them with other people who need it. But I don’t know how. I’m still thinking the best way of sharing…Have any idea?

The Laundry Room doesn’t have to be a Boring Place

The laundry room is one of the last areas of the house to get our attention. The reason is that we ask ourselves, who will see that tinny bitty place–the place where we can just dump all our dirty clothes or where we can hide a trash can. Washing clothes is never a cool thing to do in life. That’s why sometimes we are so lazy to do laundry, especially when the time to fold the clothes comes. Watching TV beats that any day. Now, let’s face it, laundry is something we have to do from time to time. There just may be a way we can make our laundry time fun.

We call our house

“home sweet home.”

Wherever we go, no matter how bad our house is, we always miss it and want to go back to it. We have an attachment to that place where we can be who we are. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz describes it perfectly when she says:

“there’s no place like home.”

Most of the time, we like to do an activity when we enjoy doing it, when the surrounding environment sustains us. We can spend hours and hours doing things we like to do. It’s the same way with laundry. To enjoy the time, we have to attach and build a connection to where we are.

Here are a few tips we can do to change our laundry time from dreading it to loving it: Continue reading

by Steven Gillman
Frugal living requires skills and ways of looking at things that help you take advantage of the money-saving opportunities in life. The truly frugal person makes these into habits. Six of these habits are outlined below. These are techniques that can be learned in a matter of a day or two, and made into new habits a few weeks. Then they will save money for you for the rest of your life. Continue reading