Cost of beauty, what is too much?

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larry85704

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Hi everybody.

Being a guy it is tough for me to relate to this, but women spend money on beauty aids. Beauty aids such as hair coloring, sun screen, a bewildering number of creams for the face and body, powders, perfumes, shoes, clothes, eyelashes, fake hair, makeup and plastic surgery. Now before a bunch of you jump up and say it is wrong to do this let me say that I am certain it is not wrong, or sinful, unless maybe if it is carried to excess.

Picture a sink in a master bathroom. If there is no room for any guy stuff close to the sink is that normal, or excessive? If a woman makes $2000 month and spends $500 a month on beauty aids is that too much?

My first wife never spent anything on these items. I had to go with her for her to buy a new dress. I forgot perfume existed with her. I really wish she would have spent more money on “beauty aids”. She died and I remarried. My current wife does buy perfume and gets her hair done and buys clothes, which I like.

Any thoughts?
 
larry85704 said:
Hi everybody.

Being a guy it is tough for me to relate to this, but women spend money on beauty aids. Beauty aids such as hair coloring, sun screen, a bewildering number of creams for the face and body, powders, perfumes, shoes, clothes, eyelashes, fake hair, makeup and plastic surgery. Now before a bunch of you jump up and say it is wrong to do this let me say that I am certain it is not wrong, or sinful, unless maybe if it is carried to excess.

Picture a sink in a master bathroom. If there is no room for any guy stuff close to the sink is that normal, or excessive? If a woman makes $2000 month and spends $500 a month on beauty aids is that too much?

My first wife never spent anything on these items. I had to go with her for her to buy a new dress. I forgot perfume existed with her. I really wish she would have spent more money on “beauty aids”. She died and I remarried. My current wife does buy perfume and gets her hair done and buys clothes, which I like.

Any thoughts?
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Since my wife is a member of the forums, I am gonig to say, whatever you want honey! 👍

I do not know what is too much since my wife is very good with what she buys. The beauty products that she uses are what she needs and she does not get the “expensive” make up and the such. I am not sure what would be too much.
 
It is certainly possible for a woman to spend too much on beauty aids. But, many a guy spends too much on sports/hobby/electronic (TVs, games, DVDs, etc.) stuff and thinks nothing of it. :whistle:

I think most women are fairly savvy about how to buy the beauty aids they want for a reasonable price. I buy most of my stuff at Walmart or Kmart not a department store or beauty boutique where the cost goes way beyond the effectiveness of the product.
 
This is coming from my own womanly perspective.
I think the key to this (as any most anything) is moderation. I don’t think a little makeup, nice clothes, perfume are a problem.

Where I see it being a problem is when you start to go extremes to make yourself look like who you are not. For example, a 50 yr old woman trying to make themselves look several years, decades, younger than they are. If you are 50 you should have no problem looking 50. I think our society has gone to far with this idea that woman NEED to look younger. That’s bogus! We don’t need to look younger. We need to accept the fact that we age. There is nothing wrong with aging.

Much of this stuff can fall under the category of vanity. Vanity is one of the 7 deadly sins. Like I said though all in moderation. That is the real key. When done in moderation it’s not sinful.
 
Sabda said:
This is coming from my own womanly perspective.
I think the key to this (as any most anything) is moderation. I don’t think a little makeup, nice clothes, perfume are a problem.

Where I see it being a problem is when you start to go extremes to make yourself look like who you are not. For example, a 50 yr old woman trying to make themselves look several years, decades, younger than they are. If you are 50 you should have no problem looking 50. I think our society has gone to far with this idea that woman NEED to look younger. That’s bogus! We don’t need to look younger. We need to accept the fact that we age. There is nothing wrong with aging.

Much of this stuff can fall under the category of vanity. Vanity is one of the 7 deadly sins. Like I said though all in moderation. That is the real key. When done in moderation it’s not sinful.
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This it true. Of course, a lot of women don’t know how to do make up to suit their age nor choose proper clothing or hairstyle, either. They either dress like they did in high school or college, or they let themselves go completely out of frustration and/or being too busy to care.

It is worth a couple of dollars to go to a good, professional make up artist, clothes consultant, and hair dresser to update one’s look to suit ones age and occupation. Everything about us changes as we age, so if we don’t want to look older than we are or like old women trying to be kids again, I think we ought to invest a little bit up front to keep ourselves looking sensibly, yet nicely dressed, coiffured, and made up. When people see only a nice looking lady not the make up and the hair and the clothes, then you know you have done it right. 😉
 
larry85704 said:
Picture a sink in a master bathroom. If there is no room for any guy stuff close to the sink is that normal, or excessive?
**
Totally normal:). My hubby just uses the bathroom in the hall;)**

If a woman makes $2000 month and spends $500 a month on beauty aids is that too much?

**Too much is when it negatively affects the amount of money going towards commitments (family, charity, Church etc). If a woman makes $2000 and spends $500 on herself but $1500 on others then that might be ok. But if that $500 would be better used towards life insurance, retirement, children, food etc then it’s not ok.

It’s one of those things that’s really individual. $20/month would be too much for some while $2000/month may not be for others.

malia**
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In my opinion, $500 a month on beauty aids is way too much no matter how much you make. Vanity is wrong and I think its a sin although the Catechism of the Catholic Church does not say anything about it. Here is a Wikipedia article on vanity:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity
 
$500 a month? What the heck is she buying? Even if your buying salon quality stuff you shouldn’t go through it all in a month. Does she actually use all the stuff or just has addiction to trying new beauty products. For some women it’s shoes, some beauty products, some something else -either way it sounds like it’s out of control.

I don’t think I spend more than $500 in an entire year (although I’m pretty laid back about that stuff). I do buy salon quality shampoo/conditioner. It’s the one thing I don’t skimp on. Even so at $20 a bottle, those bottles are huge (I buy Redkin) and last months.
 
I think his $500 a month figure includes clothes and shoes, not just cosmetics.

Although, I’m not sure what the point that the OP is making. Is he concerned about the cost, the clutter, or the preoccupation?

Personally, it does sound a bit over the top to me, but I tend to be fairly simple about such things.
 
To a person on a budget, expensive beauty products, perfume etc may be excessive. But to those who can afford it, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to look after yourself and indeed pamper yourself.:eek: To value oneself is a good thing and to make the most of what God gave us is one of the pleasures of being human and being alive. It’s also one of the nice things about being female.😊
 
Auntie Mame said, “Life is a banquest, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

The scolds, shrews, and scowlers can and whine all they want about how other people spend their own money; they can’t help it. But life is still a banquet. So, buy all the make-up, powders, creams, liposuctions, nose jobs, trinkets, bassboats, and Blackberries you want and enjoy them. If you’re not buying it for someone else, and you’re not using their money, then do whatever you want. If you are using their money, then buy more just for fun. Ain’t this a great country!
 
Mirror_Mirror said:
. The beauty products that she uses are what she needs .
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you’re diggin a hole here for yourself, fella, better quit now. I would like to know why the woman’s version of commonly used toiletries like deoderant, shampoo, shaving creme etc. costs 2 or 3 X as much as the men’s version. However somebody brought an Avon book to work and the first 3rd is men’s products, their usual lines, but in Nascar and MLB containers and packaging. I also think we will get into a debate about what is a necessary toiletry or grooming aide, and what is a frivolous cosmetic or “beauty” product. We also have gone thru this debate several times over the years.
DH why don’t you do something with your hair?
DW okay, I’ll get my hair done tomorrow
. . .

DH What on earth did you do to your hair?
DW Had it done how do you like it?
DH I hope you didn’t have to pay good money to look like that

Then of course the is the points system, if operational at your house. For every round of golf, electronic gadget, or golfclub that costs more than we paid in doctor bills for our firstborn, I bank so much credit to any silly thing I want to buy for myself, like anything with the word “spa” on the label.
 
I think that including clothing as a beauty aid is not a correct classification. If you are in a professional job with a business dress code, shoes and clothes may be very important. If you are a stay at home mother, or you work where you can wear jeans, you will most likely spend much less on clothing and shoes.
 
GreenJeans said:
Auntie Mame said, “Life is a banquest, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”

The scolds, shrews, and scowlers can and whine all they want about how other people spend their own money; they can’t help it. But life is still a banquet. So, buy all the make-up, powders, creams, liposuctions, nose jobs, trinkets, bassboats, and Blackberries you want and enjoy them. If you’re not buying it for someone else, and you’re not using their money, then do whatever you want. If you are using their money, then buy more just for fun. Ain’t this a great country!
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Since this is a Catholic forum, we are discussing the spending of money from a Catholic perspective. Just in case you hadn’t noticed…
 
Sheeniac said:
Since this is a Catholic forum, we are discussing the spending of money from a Catholic perspective. Just in case you hadn’t noticed…
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Auntie Mame was at least a nominal Catholic, although she did not work at it very hard.
 
I’m 56 and long past babehood:) However, I buy a moderate amount of beauty products, but I try to buy sensibly. I get them at Wal-mart and TJ Maxx and pay way less than full price. Since I live in the South, I wear hardly any makeup in the summer (it would melt off in a few minutes) but I get mosturizers and sunscreen. I get my hair cut every month - it grows very fast - but I don’t color it. Since it grows so fast, I’d have to touch up every week and life is too short to mess with hair.
 
Thanks everybody for your comments.

FYI

Sunglasses - $500

Sandals - $1,000

Dresses - $5,000

Jeans - $1,600

Lipstick - $100

All found at Saks in San Francisco. Sort of nominal prices. Seems high to me. Can a Catholic ever justify spending $100 for a lipstick? Even if you can afford $10,000 a month for personal items is it ever ok?
 
Sheeniac said:
Since this is a Catholic forum, we are discussing the spending of money from a Catholic perspective. Just in case you hadn’t noticed…
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What’s wrong with Catholics spending their own hard earned money on things they like?
 
GreenJeans said:
What’s wrong with Catholics spending their own hard earned money on things they like?
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We have a requirement to use the Lord’s money in useful and responsible ways - i.e. charity, donating money to the Church. Again - a matter of degree.

Again - are you a Catholic? It is helpful to understand where people are coming from in order to discuss issues with their understanding in mind.

Pax Tecum GreenJeans
 
larry85704 said:
Thanks everybody for your comments.

FYI

Sunglasses - $500

Sandals - $1,000

Dresses - $5,000

Jeans - $1,600

Lipstick - $100

All found at Saks in San Francisco. Sort of nominal prices. Seems high to me. Can a Catholic ever justify spending $100 for a lipstick? Even if you can afford $10,000 a month for personal items is it ever ok?
Click to expand...
Saks SF is “nominal”? Those prices are high by any means. Personally, I would never spend $100 on lipstick. I spend a fair amount on hair cuts and coloring, and only wear Ralph Lauren jeans, but I get those off ebay.
 
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