Whew! I took a break there for a while. I started running and submitted my first journal article and researched PhD programs and generally tried to work on being a grown up. And now I'm done with that for a while.So now back to Salvation Army shopping and shoe sales!
At this point, it's pretty easy to see that I am not a big fan of spending money. If there's a coupon, a sale, a less-expensive-close-enough version or if I can wait two months and get it cheaper I usually will. My posts so far have been mostly about how to cut corners and make something out of nothing. I throw the word "cheap" around a lot when I describe myself but in reality I prefer "thrifty" There are some things I consider well worth the money they cost, so I decided that it might be nice to have a post about spending money (well) instead of trying to pocket every cent possible.
As you probably all know, my fashion-loving friends, the September issue of Vogue came out a few weeks ago. It kind of sucked, from the cheesy Photoshopped bow on the cover to the approximately 600 pages of ads. I wasn't so into it until I saw an ad for OPI's new collection. The delightfully odd color "Don't Talk Bach to Me" made my heart skip a beat. It's an odd mustard-lime that's even more bizarre in person, and as a fan of weird nail polish colors I had to run out and get it THAT DAY. And I haven't been disappointed. It's crazy looking. But as someone who saves up my Price Chopper gas points how can I justify spending big bucks on lady stuff when there are so many cheapo drug store options?
For me, it's simple: I like different. My favorite nail polish color is one called "Uh-oh, Roll Down the Window" for reasons that may be instantly obvious. Cheaper polishes still stick mainly to the pink-red-coral end of things, maybe featuring brights for summer and plums for winter. Higher end, and especially designer, polishes tend to feature polishes based on the "in" colors of the season. Brands like Chanel that have both fashion and beauty houses often match polish to runway shows, giving us mere mortals a taste of haute couture. This summer that meant mint EVERYWHERE. For the fall it's looking like gothy darks and awesomely off-kilter shades like griege and mustard. Though there's still a pretty major debate around this many of these brands also are "three free," which means they have stopped using formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, and toluene in their polishes. These substances are carcinogens and toxins, and despite still-controversial studies it seems better not to risk putting them on your fingers. When applied correctly they are also longer lasting than their cheaper counterparts. For me, this makes them bargain enough.
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