Carnival of the Vanities #197
The Bargain Queen’s also in this week’s Carnival of the Vanities, which rounds up the best posts from all over the web each week. If you’re interested, go take a look!
Archive for June, 2006
Balancing the beauty budget
Beauty products have got to be one of the most confusing purchases around.
Which products do you actually need to look good?
Are the expensive ones any better than the cheap ones?
And does anything ever work as well as the ads promise?
Here’s how I get my beauty budget to balance: the products I spend more on, the cheap products I love, and most importantly, the mistakes I will never make again!
This week’s Festival of Frugality
The Bargain Queen has an article in this week’s Festival of Frugality. If you’re interested in some great money-saving tips, be sure to check it out!
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My gorgeous new Marc Jacobs shoes
The other day, I got extremely lucky and found two pairs of Marc Jacobs shoes for under AU$200 (about US$150) in the winter sales!
I fall in love with fabulous designer shoes at least once a year, but I don’t buy unless I can afford them AND I’ll get years of wear from them. Like most people, I’ve heard that environmental damage, psychological ill-health and financial ruin are all caused by excess consumption and I want no part of it… but on the other hand, I love gorgeous, well-designed things.
I’m thrilled when I find gorgeous things that fit my budget and my lifestyle!
The Bargain Queen’s in Melbourne
I’m in Melbourne this week to visit my family. I’ll post as much as she can, but since that involves kicking my 80 year old father off his computer and out of his study, it might be an uphill battle! So please excuse me if I’m a bit quiet for a few days.
Why I love imaginary shopping
I LOVE beautiful things… but if I bought every gorgeous thing I’ve ever found, I’d be bankrupt.
For example, my current obsession is some stunning Marc Jacobs heels, but they’re $500 Australian on sale. Eep! No way they’re going to fit into this year’s clothes budget!
That’s why I love imaginary shopping. It’s free, almost as fun as real shopping, and you can do it in the privacy of your own home any time you want — even when the shops are shut.
Here’s how it works.
Showing off: two winter coats, $126
In Australia, the coldest part of winter has just started so it’s time to pull out some warm clothing.
This is a clothing category I usually neglect because I live in Sydney where there’s only three ‘cold’ months a year and it never gets below freezing. We have no snow, no frozen waterways and not much frost… but we also don’t have the fantastic heating that’s standard in colder places. That means we don’t have the option of throwing a long North Face coat over our outfit until we get where we’re going because indoor and outdoor temperatures don’t vary as much. So here, your warm layers have to be an integral part of the ensemble because you’re going to be wearing them most of the day.
So after looking at my pathetic selection of winter coats, I decided it was time to go shopping. Here’s what I came home with:
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