The True Cost Of Low-Maintenance Beauty

One of the most desirable beauty personas today is the "low-maintenance cool girl." Many of us like to pour over images of models-off-duty, and wish that we could be one of those girls whose "routine" consists of just concealer and lip balm. But, is effortless beauty all smoke and mirrors? Stephanie Mark of The Coveteur calculated how much it has cost her to maintain a bare-bones routine. Mark prides herself on being able to get ready in 12 minutes, flat. But, the road to that impressive point was long and winding. "Looking back, I realize that I've done a lot of maintenance over the years to make my beauty routine as easy as possible," she writes. "I guess that means I'm not low-maintenance after all?" In her list of primping procedures, Mark includes regular hair-coloring, keratin treatments, laser eye surgery, brow tinting, orthodontics, underarm Botox, and more. After all that, she reasons she has paid more than $36,000 for her coveted, less-than-15-minute routine over the years. All of this saves tons of time: less tangoing with your hair brush, no hunting for your glasses or popping contacts into your eyes, and no need to fill in your brows every morning. It got me thinking about my own routine, and how much time and effort it's saved me. I'm on a round of Doxycycline to clear up my skin, which is working — and means I get to eliminate the concealer-foundation part of my morning regimen. I also spend good amounts of dough on hair treatments and coloring to keep my naturally frizzy waves in check.  So, that's how some people are able to just roll out of bed and get on with their days. But, not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford this kind of "low" maintenance. Truth is, many can't. And, many more put forth zero effort and still look rad: They don't feel the need to "tame" their frizzy hair or conceal their undereye circles. So, there are many definitions of "low-maintenance" out there. At the end of the day, it's not fair to judge each other and measure others' self-worth (or our own, for that matter) by how much time they spend on beauty. If you love yourself and have the means to do so, go ahead and invest in yourself. If you don't have the means, there are other paths to self-love. I think that's the point Mark is ultimately trying to make.  Click over to check out her full article. It will definitely get you thinking about what being low-maintenance really means. (The Coveteur)