I have been aroused from my blogging slumber by a comment on my last post wherein I hawked Paula's Choice products.
This is supposed to be a frugal blog.........?
Pleeeeeeeeease !
Nothing like a little derision to put me on the defensive. Lizzie raises a good question, of course. On the defensive side: I buy perhaps 3 items per year from Paula. always on sale. They work well and last a long time.
Further, I use many cheapo products recommended on her site: Cerave, Cetaphil, various sunscreens. In a sense, I feel that I'm paying her back for her excellent advice, which is, at times, better than the advice that dermatologists are dispensing (along with pricy items they sell in their offices). For instance, a colleague who had skin cancer was told by her doctor to wear sunscreen, but the doctor did not inform her of the importance of broad spectrum ingredients as Paula did, way before this info was in mainstream media. My colleague's sunscreen lacked a crucial ingredient, so I gave her some Paula sunscreen from my stash. Now most sunscreens have broad spectrum protection, but at the time, they did not.
I first heard about Paula from a friend who lent me her book. My frugal heart was thrilled to discover advice on skincare, hair products, and make up that got around the always tempting advertisements we are bombarded with. Paula recommends many, many drugstore brands. Paula herself noted that she was skirting an ethical issue by starting her own line of products. I think she handles it pretty well. I've never used much make up, but the friend who lent me the book so many years ago saved a TON of money when she switched from department store to drugstore brands.
Besides, I am 60 years old and have been uber-frugal for many, many years, at first by necessity and now (thank heavens) more by choice. I think my Paula purchases fit into my frugal ethos, but most of us make spending choices that appall both friends and family. I, for one, reserve the right to be appalled by disposable diapers!
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12 comments:
I hardly think a single purchase/recommendation can be enough to gauge whether one is frugal or not?
I'm very frugal (by necessity) and I love Paula's Choice. I just wish her beta hydroxy acid products and retinol serums had been around when I was in my 20's. She was the first person I remember talking about broad spectrum sunscreens and now I always check for that. I have a ton of skin issues and I think I've saved a lot of money by largely sticking to her products and some others that she reviewed vs. falling for marketing hype and buying lots of products that just give me a rash.
I figure it's your blog and you can say what you like. There is a UK based website that I get emails from called 'Martin's Money Saving Experts' (or something like that) and I signed up to receive their emails. A few of the lead stories are about some major financial world change that people would be wise to be aware of, like banks that sold them unnecessary insurance on their mortgage or changes in tax-free accounts and the like. The rest are deal for movie tickets, make-up, restaurants, clothing and the usual range of consumer items. If I were on the look out for any of this stuff, I might find it useful, but I almost never am. I'm more interested in the Forum discussions about cheap ways to do things - far more fun than 2-for-1 pizza or whatever. Must admit I've looked at the Paula's Choice but didn't buy anything. Might yet, though, you never know. I'm always amazed when someone has the nerve to criticize someone's blog. Seems to me like walking into someone's home and telling them they've decorated badly. I guess it takes all kinds...
Look like I repeated myself up there a bit... I may need another cup of coffee!
Being frugal does not necessarily mean scrimping pennies on important expenditures like skincare. In my 20s-40s I spent agooish amount of money on make-up and used Lubiderm as both my body AND facial moisturizer. Now I spend more on skin care and wear almost no make-up. My skin care regimen is very affordable and I try to take good care of my skin -- it's the only one I have. Keeping you skin in good shape is being frugal. Spending gobs of money on Botox and similar treatments is not frugal.
That's "a goodish amount of money..." Sorry!
To me frugal means to get the best value for your money. You decide what that value is. Disposable diapers were high on my list. :)
It's all about balance and I think you represent balance well. I own a very expensive Kate Spade coat (bought on sale, still pricy), but I still consider myself frugal in general. I am frugal to be able to afford the things that matter to me- not having to work full time, travel, debt repayment, savings, and even the occasional expensive coat or handbag. My frugality is for a purpose, not just for the sake of being frugal.
Intrigued by this charge, I looked up some definitions of frugality; one is, "economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful". I think of you as eminently frugal, and like The Frugal Shrink, for a purpose.
My personal economic equation does not necessarily result in buying the cheapest product on the market: joy of use is also a criterion. That's where the whole frugality movement loses me, when people deny pleasure, grace and joy and everything is reduced to cost.
@Everyone--Thanks! I have been swamped with work. I appreciate every comment!
A quote from YounghosueLove that I cherish,
... Too often frugality is incorrectly viewed as “giving up,” when the real point of frugality is “getting what you really really want.” Many times I think the main point of frugality isn’t in “not buying;” the main point of frugality- and perhaps life- is to recognize what brings you the greatest rewards and to go enthusiastically for those things. When Kathy and I got married, buying our first home was a biiig stretch, all $27,500, but we loved every minute of it. And buying our current home was a bigger stretch, but it has been a great blessing. And they were both “frugal” decisions. The point is, if you as a person truly derive great pleasure from something, the frugal behavior is to “go for it” – enthusiastically and whole hog. Who cares if you’re not going out to dinner if the money you’re saving can afford you the things you really want? What is given up means little compared with the pleasure of the better choices.” -Love, Tom/Dad
So, technically, frugality is not scrounging and living without, but using your funds wisely to afford what you really want and let go of the rest - so, If your chocie is to buy Paula's products and you 'find' the money for it, you are FRUGAL!!
I have been following BEAUTYPEDIA, Paula's website for some time. I find her no-nonsense approach and the lucid details of her site's testing helpful when choosing among so many, well-advertised brands/claims of beauty products. I also like to cop a good drugstore find, but choose to spend on certain items, like moisturizer and lipgloss. I also do not have sensitive skin or a condition like rosacea, but my mother does, so knowing which products do not use fragrance, including essential oils, is important to me.
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