Did you know that only 2% of the world’s population is naturally blonde?  This is why blonde hair is considered a hair color minority.  For me, I love my blonde hair.  I was born blonde and I couldn’t imagine myself any other way.  Being blonde is a part of who I am.

When it comes to keeping up that light blonde look, it’s not always cheap.  I try to keep my hair as natural as possible, but I also like to lighten up the color with some highlights every so often.

I recently found a salon in Nevada and decided to finally spend the money and lighten up my hair for summer.  As I was paying, the stylist asked if I wanted to schedule my next appointment.  I told her no thank you,  I usually go a long time in between highlights.  She then said, “not a problem, we can put you down for 8 or 10 weeks out”.  That’s when I had to confess to her that when I say a long time, I mean 6 months, or whenever I can’t stand my hair anymore, whatever comes first.  The truth is a trip to the salon cost me around $140, and even though I know a lot of people spend more than that, it’s still a lot for me to fork out.  When you’re trying to save and be conservative with your money, a trip to the salon every other month can’t always be a top priority.  Even if I do feel that it’s well worth the money.  When it comes to my hair, it’s best to leave it up to a professional. 

So how do I keep up my blonde look without making frequent visits to the salon?  Here are a few tricks I’ve discovered over the years.  

I love living in the 5th sunniest city in the United States.  It has definitely helped me keep my hair lighter.  Back in Michigan, I would typically get my hair done in the spring and then I wouldn’t get my highlights done again until the late fall.  The summer sun always helped keep my hair stay nice and bright.  

Lemon juice is a natural and easy way to help the blonde shine through.  I’m a big fan of spraying some lemon juice in my hair before a walk or sitting by the pool.  If you’re lacking sunlight, you can always use the heat from a blow dryer with the lemon juice to help naturally lighten up your hair. 

Curling your hair 

When my highlights are growing out a lot, this is when I start curling my hair every day.  For some reason, I feel like curls and waves help hide your roots, where straightening seems to showcase your roots.  I like to use my straightener to make some waves in my typically straight hair. 

Thankfully the ombre look is in right now.  People pay to make their roots show, so why not show off those roots for free and embrace that natural color?

Keep it natural 

When your lightening your hair, it’s best to not make any drastic changes. Use you natural color as a base and lighten up from there.

Make a highlighting schedule
Save your salon visits the right time. Since I go so long in between my highlights, I like to set up a schedule, so that my hair looks best at certain times of the year.  I like to lighted up my hair in the early summer, so I’m all ready for summer weddings and vacations, then I get it done again in the late fall, so I’m all ready for the holidays.

I am always searching for new makeup products for my face.  I love testing out different products and seeing what works best with my skin.  I used to be a huge fan of BareMinerals.  It was my favorite foundation for a long time.  But when I started to cut down on my spending habits, I just couldn’t justify spending $27 on one single makeup product anymore.  That’s when I started searching for another foundation.  My skin tends to be on the oilier side, so it’s hard to find a good foundation that will keep my face from shining up after an hour.

About a year ago, I started watching a lot of makeup tutorials on YouTube.  I love learning different ways to apply my makeup.  After watching some tutorials on foundation, I decided I wanted to try some liquid foundation.  I’ve always been a little hesitant to try a liquid foundation, because of my oily skin.  I started doing some research on the best drugstore foundation brands.  I tried out a few that I liked, but it wasn’t until recently that I found my favorite liquid foundation so far.  At Ulta, I stumbled upon a foundation called Ready, Set, Gorgeous, by Covergirl.  Usually, it cost around $7.99, but on this particular day, it was on sale for $5.99. I just had to try it.

One thing I’ve learned about makeup is that you can’t just use foundation and be done. Here is my daily face routine, using my Ready, Set, Gorgeous Foundation.

1. First I like to start with a good primer. I haven’t always used a primer, but now that I do, I feel like it’s an important step that I don’t like to skip.  It helps even out my face and most importantly, it helps my foundation last through my long workdays. I’ve been using Rimmel’s Stay Matte Primer. It’s the perfect primer for oily skin. Best of all, the price is right! It was only $6.99 at Ulta. 
2. Next step, I move on to my Covergirl Ready, Set Gorgeous foundation. I like that this foundation has a light to medium coverage. I hate makeup that feels heavy on my face. It’s perfect for oily skin.
3. To apply my foundation, I always use my Elf Studio Powered Brush.  I like the flat top on the brush.  It helps apply my foundation evenly and gives it an airbrush finish.  I try to stay away from using my figures to apply my foundation because my fingers have oils in them.  I always feel like I’m just putting oils back into my face when I use my fingers.
4. After my foundation is applied, I use a concealer to high light under my eyes, my forehead and down the center of my face.  I’ve been using an NYC concealer.  I’ve always liked NYC products for the price. This concealer was $3.99.
5. To apply my concealer, I’ve been using my knock off Target beauty blender.  I’ve heard great things about the original Beauty Blender.  Apparently, it’s a magical sponge that blends your foundation perfectly.  Well, I may never use a real Beauty Blender, because I don’t think I will ever be able to spend $20 on a sponge.  For now, $4.99 for a knock off beauty blender, sounds like a much better price.  I’m not crazy about using this blender for my foundation, but it works perfectly with my concealer.  The shape is perfect for getting under my eyes and around my nose.  For the price, this sponge is worth trying. 

 

Once I have my foundation on, I move on to my eyes, then complete my face with some blush, bronzer and a little finishing powder.

 Hopefully, you’ve learned something new, or you might be thinking about trying out a new product.  It’s important to have fun with your makeup and never stop looking for what works best for you!

1.) Maybeline The Falsies Volum’ Express. I’ve been trying out all sorts of mascara’s lately. So far this is by far my favorite mascara! It definitely lives up to it’s name. It lengthens and thickens your lashes giving them that false lash look that they advertise. I also love the price of this mascara. You can find it anywhere between $6 to $8. In my experience, I find the grocery store to be the best place to buy mascara. I buy it at Kroger. It is usually about $1 to $2 less than anywhere else. 

2.) Covergirl BB cream. I’ve been using this BB cream for the past few months now. I first bought this brand because of the price. Then when I ran out, I liked it so much, I decided to buy it again.  I use it everyday before I put on my makeup. I use it as a lotion and a primer. This is another product I look for at the grocery store, because of the price. It usually runs between $6 and $8. The other BB creams are closer to $10, so it really is a great bargain. 

3.) Rimmel Bronzer. This bronzer is great and you can’t beat the price. I like that it’s natural and has no shimmer to it. It works well when contouring your face. At Ulta you can get it for $4.99. 

4.) Sinful Color Nail Polish.  In my experience, nail polish is nail polish. I have used the expensive brands and I have used the cheap brands. I can’t seem to find out what the difference is. Maybe the more expensive polish last longer, but I’m not sure. All I know is that I love to have a large selection of nail polish colors, so the cheap brands are the way to go for me. I love the brand Sinful Colors for 2 reasons 1.) they have an awesome selection of colors and 2.) the price! I usually buy this nail polish at Target for around $2.

5.) NYX Natural Eyeshadow Palette. NYX is probably my favorite brand for eye shadow at the moment. I love the color palette’s that they offer. This natural palate is a great alternative to other popular natural palettes like Urban Decay and Smashbox. At Ulta, you can buy this palette for only $7.49. This eyeshadow definitely has a high end feel to it, without the high-end price.

If you have not tried out these products yet, I would give them a try. I’m sure that you’ll love them as much as I do!

Having nice hair is important to me. If I’m having a bad hair day, then most likely I’m going to have an overall bad day. The problem is… hair can be expensive to keep up with. I know that you can easily drop around $200 on one trip to the salon. I can’t afford to do that every couple of months. Luckily, I have a great, affordable stylish. I still can’t afford to go as often as most people. I try to spread out my visits as long as I can. I was going every 3 months, now in an effort to save money, I’m down to just about every 6 months. My goal is to find inexpensive ways to keep my hair feeling healthy and stylish without having to make too many trips to the salon.

I am always getting asked by people, where I get my nails done? I always have to tell them, I do them myself and they never believe me. I can’t tell you the last time I had a manicure professionally done. If you are trying to live your life on a budget, one of the first things to go should be the mani/pedis! Honestly, there is no reason to pay for something like that, when you can do it at home yourself for free!