Yahoo Finance Aussies struggling with cost-of-living crisis: ‘Feel like a plain Jane’
Some women say they are spending up to $500 a month on beauty products and treatments.
Aussie women are having a tough time finding the balance between keeping up with beauty standards and the rising cost of living.
One Aussie took to the popular AusFinance subreddit to comment on how hard it could be as a woman in the cost-of-living crisis because “so much of our identity, self confidence, natural biology and partner attraction is around looks”.
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“I can't financially keep up with beauty trends anymore. It's not just nails, brows and a healthy diet anymore, it's full-on treatments and products,” they said.
“I know this sounds privileged that this is a financial concern. Society has put such pressure on women to look a certain way and that expectation is amplifying due to science progression and social media.”
Aussie women cutting back on beauty
Women flocked to the comments with tips and tricks they had picked up to try to keep up with soaring costs.
“With the rising cost of living it's even harder to keep up! I'm pretty minimal these days, don't get my nails done anymore, never had a facial or had any salon treatments. Bought myself one of those DIY nail-dipping kits, so I'll see how that works out,” one commenter said.
“The only things I do now really are eyebrow waxes, and infrequent haircuts. I'd love to do more, but we're saving for a house deposit. I also work in the medical aesthetics industry (not at a clinic) so there are lots of glamorous people around which makes me feel very plain Jane. I focus on looking polished and tidy, with a minimal work wardrobe, but it's hard not to feel like I'm just ordinary.”
Aussies turning to DIY
One person responded that they had started to do beauty treatments themselves instead of paying the professionals to save some money.
These things included:
Colouring their hair at home - $30 instead of $180
Replacing skincare products from more expensive brands like Mecca to more affordable ones like The Ordinary
Shopping around for good deals on shampoo and fake tan
“Also, [I] cleared out my wardrobe and this actually reminded me of what I HAVE, I have all the basics and some beautiful timeless pieces - I remind myself of this when I fantasise about buying a new coat, etc,” they said.
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