D.I.Y. beauty: beauty on a budget (part 2)

Confession time: the only time I ever see a beautician for a facial treatment is around my birthday, if that. I am not accustomed to outsourcing my beauty rituals. This is not entirely due to the fact that my budget does not permit it. The other side of the coin is that I like to learn and the age in which we live lends itself to this love of mine. Deciphering YouTube videos and beauty&hair forums and then trying it out on myself at home is my hobby. 

The only beauty regimen I used to outsource was the shaping of my eyebrows, because up until recently, I was very challenged in this area. So I always relied on my sister to take care of it and she did a very good job: 

Yesterday I took a stab at it myself and was pleased with the results. So much so that it inspired this blog post and made the list of beauty rituals I no longer need to outsource. All financial articles point to it that women spend more money on clothes and beauty articles, whereas men spend more money on food and cars. D.I.Y. beauty helps in the sense that you keep more money in your pockets, so that you're able to save instead of doling it all out. 

At this point in my womanhood journey I'm just delving deeper and deeper into my own sense of style and beauty repertoire. Listening to India Arie's 'Video' has me redefining what beauty means to me, it helps to see so many young women of African descent sporting their natural hair proudly. Just yesterday I was on the tram with a young lady sporting a beautiful combed out afro and a red lip. It inspired me. Such boldness, such confidence. It's a quiet revolution of sorts. At this point in my journey I have jotted down what works for my skin and what type of make up I like to use. This is very important so that one is not spending all of their money each time a new product comes out on the market. Once you know what works for you, stick to it. Stability in your beauty regimen will reflect itself on your monthly budget. Another great tip for us ladies living in Belgium is that you can use meal vouchers to buy beauty products if you're a naturalista like me: just think of eggs for protein, coconut oil for moisture, avocado for the hair, olive oil and so forth. All products one can buy with meal vouchers while keeping the much needed euros in the pocket for future investments.