Yes Tammy, sometimes it is hard to be a woman and it’s also very very expensive. I have often lamented on how easy men have it when it comes to grooming. A shave, a haircut which usually costs no more than €20, the odd item of new clothing, throw in a bottle of aftershave and there you have it. We women on the other hand get stung for a lot more.

I like to be well groomed but I don’t go overboard. I’m certainly not the kind of woman who spends a fortune in a salon every month and in fact I’ve only ever had one facial in my life. Even though I think I’m not very high maintenance it still manages to cost rather a lot of money. I’ll break it down for you:

Hair
My hair is mousy brown, i.e. the kind of colour that is screaming out for dye. Even though I never pay top dollar for my hair (my sister works in a salon which helps) I’ll still spend €100 every eight weeks. Then I’ll buy salon shampoo and conditioner, as when your hair is highlighted the cheap supermarket ones often aren’t good enough. That’s €35 every month plus a bottle of Moroccan Oil every three months which is €40 a pop. Total cost for haircare for one year (not including tips) = €1,260

Make-up
I adore make-up and am not that much of a snob when it comes to brands – looking at my make-up box there’s everything from Guerlain and Chanel through to L’Oreal and Sephora. However a quick tot up of my make-up bag and I find that the total cost of everything I carry around with me is just under €300, not including the bag itself. No wonder I’m terrified of having my handbag stolen.

Skincare
Moisturiser, cleanser, face masks, face oil, exfoliator, serum, hand cream, body cream, shower gel, razor blades, nail polish and remover, deodorant, perfume, Q-tips and cotton wool, sun cream – all staples of any woman’s skincare regime. Some of the products I use are cheap (like this or this) and some are pricey (like this). An estimate of all this stuff per year is in the region of €850.

Salon services
Waxing and the odd pedicure is as much as I do and this sets me back €350 per year (excluding tips). I don’t wear nail polish on my hands so I never get manicures and I don’t get massages or spray tans or anything else that is standard for a lot of other women I know.

Adding it all up, before I even buy an item of clothing, the face that I present to the world costs me approximately €2,760 a year. So gentlemen in my life, if I ever tell you that I’m too broke to go out for dinner/a drink/on holiday, you now know part of the reason why! I’m spending close to 3k a year on stuff you’ll never have to think about.

I know technically I don’t have to think about this stuff either but I’d rather be groomed than go the au naturel route. It would depress me to have to look at grey hair in the mirror and rough scaly skin! Good grooming makes me feel good and let’s be honest, it’s not like I’m spending thousands on plastic surgery to look like an unattainable ideal. This is basic stuff.

Ladies reading this, when you tot up your annual spend, how much are you looking at?

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