CHEAP
DECEMBER 2012 ÂŁ0
magazine
Investment pieces
of the season
Manicure Like a pro
at home
4
must-see exhibitions Enjoy art for free
Life on the
cheap lane Tips, shorcuts and motivational stories to live on a budget
Life on the cheap lane
is h t In f o e issu
CHEAP magazine
2 A few words from the editor 4 Art for the masses We recommed the best exhibitions you can go to this month, for free. 5 Anything for a buzz Some of the crazyest things students have done to get a little tipsy on a very tight budget. 6 Shopping is so last century Buying the perfect dress or accesory is not the only way to wear it. Try the cheaper alternative of renting or swapping. 8 Investment pieces For your cuality basiscs, that you’ll probably wear forever, get something worthy of inhereting. 10 Life on the cheap lane Everything you need to know to
live as cheaply as posible. Can you live for free? 14 No place for a lady A modern girl seems to find herself at home everywhere but at a kitchen. 22 Polka dots NOTD Get a professional manicure in your home using some materials you probably have already. 24 The lipstick challenge When you buy an expensive lipstick, areyou paying for a product or only for a name? Our experiment reveals an unexpected answer. 26 Eye candy You don’t have to own something to admire it. Window shopping is free and it’s cardio.
OUR COVER Katherine Brown is wearing a white and silver animal print scuba peplum top, £8. Red leather driving gloves, £7. Both Primark. Her black leather-look skinny jeans, £20, are Zara. Hair and make-up: Nuria Soriano. Fashion and production: Gabriela Cambero. Photographer: Scott Archibald. Please, visit our website for more information on any article contained in this issue of CHEAP magazine. www.cheapmagazine.com
Nice people who contributed Scott Archibald Originally from Portsmouth, where he studied photography, Scott is currently assitant to some of the best fashion photographers in the industry. Nuria Soriano Make-up artist and hairstylist based in London, originally from Barcelona, she has been working as a freelance for fashion editorials. She also works in a beauty salon in Bricklane. Alejandra Cambero Finance student at Regent’s College, currently living in Camden Town.
CHEAP magazine GABRIELA CAMBERO Editor in Chief GABRIELA CAMBERO Creative Director GABRIELA CAMBERO Fashion Director GABRIELA CAMBERO Beauty Editor GABRIELA CAMBERO Features Editor GABRIELA CAMBERO Art Director
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 1
A few words from the editor If you find your wishes frustrated from lack of cash, don’t feel so miserable, you’re not alone–and there’s probably a way you can get what you want, that you hadn’t thought of before. We’ll take you to a nice trip down scrimpers lane and–let’s face it–you’ve probably travelled down this road before. But let me assure you, you’ve never done it with such a guide. Everybody needs a bit of cheap advice from time to time, and it’s always good to remind yourself that low budget does not equate to low style. That’s what we wanted to convey this month. When I talked to Scott–the talented young photographer to whom we owe our fabulous cover–about shooting a strong modern woman in an unlikely setting, he was on-board with the idea right away and, as the conversation progressed, we realized that we were sitting in the unlikeliest of settings: my very retro-looking kitchen. With the aid of Nuria, our make-up artist, and a little bit of fashion, the beautiful Katherine Brown was able to personify a girl who, after being wealthy, had lost it all and landed in that hideous kitchen, where–without losing an ounce of glamour–she now had to cook and wash. Apart from Katherine’s lovely face, in this issue you’ll find some tips to get a professional looking manicure for almost no money, my adventure bin diving south of the river and the option of renting or swapping as an alternative to shopping. You’ll find loads of stuff to do that you may not have thought you could afford within your budget. But we believe that, like Oscar Wilde puts it, ‘Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination’. Happy holidays!
Gabriela Cambero Editor in chief
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December 2012 CHEAP magazine  3
ART for the masses London has enough art to go around. On any given day there are countless, galleries, museums and exhibitions you can visit for . We pick our favorites of the month. Tim Walker, Story Teller Somerset House Fashion photographer Tim Walker shows some of his most famous works in his first major exhibition. As you walk through the space you’ll come face to face with landmark portraits of the most important faces in fashion, celebrities and prints of some of the most creative fashion images ever captured. You can also see some of the most bizarre props and short fashion films. It’s a forced visit to any fashion or photography enthusiast in the city.
Marilyn Monroe, A British Love Affair
National Portrait Gallery Our fascination with the legendary blonde seems to have no end. With this exhibition, the National Portrait Gallery shows the story of the screen goddess seen through the Brits’ eyes-or lenses. This icons life is celebrated through a selection of magazine covers and pictures significant to her relations with the country. As this exposition is quite small, you might do a quick detour and visit-or revisitthe permanent collection. It’s also
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free and you’ll probably find some familiar faces besides learning a thing or two.
Death: A Self-portrait
Wellcome Collection Death is a theme that has fascinated and intrigued mankind all through its history. This exhibition showcases 300 artifacts that deal with the iconography of death. Works exposed are incredibly diverse-from Mexican Day of the Dead installations to rare Goya prints-and all come from the private collection of Chicago-based antiques collector Richard Harris.
Women in Focus: Photographs by Dorothy Bohm
Museum of London Dorothy Bohm attempts to capture with her lenses the different roles of women in society from the 90s to the present day. She compares real women to the ones depicted in advertising and artworks with the intention of showing the gaps between them and to point out the expectations of femininity nowadays.
r o f g n i h Anyt Students will do crazy things to a buzz get a little drunk. What would you do for a good party?
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tudents usually have the best disposition to get drunk and the worst budget to do it. We’ve all done something crazy to get tipsy at some point. These are some funny techniques I’ve seen–or used–to get in the party mood without paying the retail price.
Cynthia
Accountant in Paris Drinks in a club usually come in very pricey, especially for a Mexican girl living in Paris on a very tight budget. Cynthia gets around the guards who check purses in the entrance of the clubs by putting vodka in small water bottles and hiding them in her long boots.
Ana Elisa
High School in Paris Ane–as her friends call her–enjoys clubbing in the city of lights, but her endurance to alcohol surpasses her budget. She has as trick, not up her sleeve, but down her bra. Ane fills a couple of Ziploc bags with her liquor of choice and uses them as fillers to get a fuller cleavage and a free buzz. As the night progresses, onlookers may wonder at the ever diminishing size of her cup size.
Florencia
Communications in Guadalajara Living in a posh neighbourhood in Guadalajara is not necessarily synonym with a large bank account–especially for college students chipping in to rent a nice house–however, it does gives access to some of the best house parties. Florencia drives around her neighbourhood on weekends and wherever she hears
loud music, she parks and crashes the party. The perfect free pre-drinks before the club.
Andrea
Finances in London Andrea doesn’t like pubs but beers happen to be the only drinks that get to her head. Whenever she goes to clubs in Mayfair, she makes sure to buy some beers beforehand and hides them some yards away from the entrance. Every now and then, she pops out to smoke a cigarette and sneaks away to down a beer. People wonder at how she can be so drunk at the end of the night after buying just one cocktail.
Ana
Business in London Ana is not really into art but she’s really into gallery openings. She likes the guys who are into art but mostly, she loves free drinks. She recommends a webpage called galleries. co.uk, where one can find the gallery openings for any given day. She gets a bit of culture, a lot of drinks and, in some cases, a date.
Gabriela
Marketing in Paris During fashion week in Paris, I used to sneak into fashion shows. A couple of friends and I would go into the backstage of the last show of the night using a number of concoctions–from acting as if we were important magazine editors¬ to pretending we had forgotten our mobiles in there–and we would get completely drunk on champagne, in the company of models and celebrities–for free.
Cheapest booze in town Get rid of your inhibitions and get yourself to G-A-Y, an awesome gay club (duh!) in Soho, on a thursday night. The music is awesome and the drinks– vodka, rum or beer–are just £1.70 a piece. Dance the night away singing to Lady Gaga and Cheryl Cole.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 5
Shopping is so last century By Gabriela Cambero
Shopping as we know it is not the only way to get your hands on the latest trends. Go online and discover novel ways to wear new clothes, without actually having to buy them.
Swap your wardrobe Swishing.co.uk is probably the biggest website in the UK dedicated to swap clothes. You have to send them your unwanted clothes and they’ll give you credit with which to get new ones from their online catalog of other people’s unwanted items. You are not likely to find a pair of Louboutins, but it’s a great way to get something out of your old stuff: some new stuff.
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Rent-a-dress There are several websites where a girl can hire-that’s what they call it-a designer dress, just for an event. This means you can look fabulous in a runway or red carpet dress, for only a fraction of its cost. The best part is you will never be seen wearing the same outfit twice.
3.1 Phillip Lim £69
Preen £69
Opulence England £49
Badgley Mischka £80
Alice + Olivia £39 Alice + Olivia £59
Prada for £25 –a month This is a pretty versatile purse that is sure to go perfectly with most of your Christmas party dresses which, if you’re smart, you didn’t actually buy but rented. This little fellow will look lovely dangling from your shoulder all through December.
Would you dare? Some girls argue that it’s pretty unfair one cannot wear a nice dress only because you can’t really afford it. Armed with a credit card, these modern day Robin Hoods pay for dresses that they wear for one evening and then return to the store the next day. They just have to make sure not to spill anything on it.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 7
Investment pieces
By Gabriela Cambero
Every girl needs a couple of quality pieces she’ll wear all the time. Designer names are usually synonym with durability, however, these rarely come in cheap at their namesake boutiques. But don’t worry; there are other ways to get the brand.
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dmit it, you want the designer bag or coat as much as the next girl. But face it; you don’t have an extra couple thousand pounds lying around, waiting for you to go and spend them in a designer boutique. There’s another way to get designer goods at up to 70% of the original retail price and, no, it’s not illegal, it’s buying pre-owned clothes. Think of it as pet adoption, but instead of a rescued puppy, you rescue a purse from fash-
la e d r a c s O ta n e R 0 0 3 £
Like their motto says, Chic&Seek is a company dedicated to find new owners to preloved garnments. Although they’re based online, they occasionally have pop-up boutiques in the city. For more go to: www.chicandseek.com @TheChicSeeker 8 CHEAP magazine December 2012
You can’t go wrong with this classic coat.
Ale xan Mc der Qu £70 een 0
The perfect basic black tote!
ion oblivion. After all, like pets, clothes also need to be loved. And, how do you show a coat that you love it? You wear it. Second hand luxury items are almost always as good as new and they’re a great way to get some quality basics or to finally own a special piece of your favourite designer at a price less likely to leave you bankrupt. Sure, you’ll still need to save to get one of these, they’re not what you’d call cheap, but that’s why they’re called investments.
da a r P 5 9 2 £
Make your every day brown bag a suede Prada.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 9
Life on the cheap lane By Gabriela Cambero
With companies sending samples to your door, supermarkets giving discounts and people throwing away perfectly good things, how cheap can your life get? Can you live for free?
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e, as a society, have come to expect every good thing in life to have a price tag. But there’s a bunch of great things that can come for free. And I’m not just talking about the “best things in life”–you know, love, friendship and stuff like that–but about actual things you can get without spending a quid. It doesn’t matter what you love, there’s always a way to enjoy it for barely any money, or none at all. Living for free is not a novel idea. In fact, there are people who have made the conscious decision of living from what others will consider waste as an act of rebellion against the establishment. Take for example journalist turned bin-diver and squatter Katherine Hibbert, who de-
cided to take a year off consumption and managed to survive–and enjoy herself–spending less than a pound a day. With her amazing story, she brings attention to the wastefulness of our existence and to the way our society is obsessed with consumption. Her experience is, of course, an extreme example of how cheaply a person can live, but you don’t have to go diving into dumpsters to save a few pounds. If you get things you would normally buy, for free, you’ll have some extra cash to give yourself–or your credit card balance–a treat. All you need is the will to do it and a Wi-Fi hot spot, as most tricks and shortcuts are hidden somewhere online.
Getting free stuff
When my roommate–who is not exactly Mr. Moneybags–told me he
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Do you want to know more about the queen of cheap living? Read all about Katherine Hibbert’s advetures as a squatter in her book Free: Adventures on the Margins of a Wasteful Society. www.amazon.com, £11.99
was getting a new bed, I thought he was crazy. He had a perfectly fine individual bed that did the job. Granted, he’s got a lot of lady friends coming over but it’s not as if they’re expecting to check-in at a five star hotel. I asked him where he was going to buy it and he told me “Buy it? Ha, I’m gonna use Freecycle mate”. Not wanting to seem out of the loop, I just nodded and Googled it as soon as he left. Well, as it turns out, Freecycle is a website where you can get stuff for free. Hadn’t I known that my roommate used it; I would have thought it was a scam. It sounds too good to be truth but, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. People move, offices close, roommates get girlfriends with low tolerance for pet ferrets; and they are faced with the problem of disposing of their unwanted goods–or pets. Well, someone’s trash is another’s treasure. You just have to look for something you need or fancy, and ask for it. Then go, pick it up, and it’s yours. You wouldn’t believe the things you can find there, waiting for you, just a tube ride away. I got extra chairs for my kitchen, a gorgeous mirror and racks to organize my magazines; which, had I gotten them from Ikea, would have meant I was out of, at least, £100. My only disclaimer is that, after realizing that you can get a TV, complete with a TV stand, for free, you’ll find it hard to pay the bill next time you go shopping. I mean, why would you pay for a chest of drawers, when you can get them for free?
Save it for a rainy day
Websites for the cash savvy Freecycle
Your first stop in your search for anything must be freecycle.org. Chances are you won’t have to buy what you’re looking for, someone will be offering it for free and you’ll just go and collect it.
TimeOut
Studentbeans
Even if you’re not a student, studentbeans.com is the best site for money advice, offers and giveaways. If you’re a student you have access to more benefits, but even if you’re just in looking to save a few pounds, this offers aggregator is sure to find you the best deals in town in practically everything. Also, you can get random things for free, such as eBooks, chocolate or toothpaste, just by answering surveys or giving your contact information.
MissTravel
If you’re ‘attractive, but you don’t have the money to travel’–but you do have loose morals–this website might be perfect for you. MissTravel.com is a sort of dating site that matches
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young, low-budgeted women with rich men who ‘hate to travel alone’ and are looking for company in their trips around the world. It sounds a lot like escorts but founder claims that it’s just an international dating site. It could get you around the world if you dared to use it.
here’s nothing worse about London than its weather. Sure, it’s all fun and games during the summer but as soon as soon as autumn arrives it brings with it wind and rain. The inclemency of the weather affects, not only your hairstyle, but your wallet: do you have any idea on how much you spend on umbrellas? Well, if they break is the weather’s
Download the app or browse through the website. There’s a whole section dedicated to free things you can do in London: from exhibitions to parks. It also gives you a list of all the city’s Wi-Fi hot spots.
BigOven
This is technically an iPhone app, but it’s sure to save you some money in the kitchen. BigOven allows you to enter ingredients you have left over in your kitchen and it will find you a recipe in which you can use them. It also gives you ideas of things to cook, plus, it helps you plan your grocery shopping, for maximum savings. You can also connect it to your social networks and see what your friends are cooking. fault, not yours. If you hate coughing up to buy these annoyingly necessary accessories, just step into The Dorchester on a rainy day. With any luck, you’ll be walking out with a complementary umbrella. Just remember to look confident and a bit annoyed at the weather. Make your best Made in Chelsea impression.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 11
A free lunch
It becomes easy to come to terms with using someone’s–voluntarily given–unwanted furniture. But how about eating from someone’s unwanted food? That’s exactly what Freegans do. Freegan is a fancy way of calling a person who, basically, eats for free. There are all kinds of freegans: some are normal people with jobs and flats, taking a political stand; some are unemployed, living in eco-villages and subsisting on zero money. What they all have in common is that they feel very strongly against waste. And they all get their food from super market skips. Instead of going grocery shopping and increasing the demand for food, freegans go around the back of supermarkets and search through their bins. This, however, is proving harder than in past years because– fearing some legal action to be taken against them–super markets and food sellers are taking measures against bin skippers. ‘They made us remove all the food from its packaging before throwing it out. We also had to empty liquids, such as yogurt, on top of the rest of the food to make it inedible’ said an ex Starbucks employee. Some chains have now, as a policy, all their bins locked away. Managers claim concern for skippers’ health if they eat food past its ‘Use by’ date, but freegans argue that the products they find in the bins are thrown away on the ‘Sell by’
date, which still gives them a good couple of days to consume them. The most hard core freegans don’t have regular jobs but work as volunteers to promote their way of living and to raise awareness to their cause. They don’t claim unemployment benefits, but live strictly off what they find in bins and what they get from selling literature on the advantages of freeganism and the deplorability of waste. Although we might question the efficacy of their methods, theirs is a worthy cause as every year in Britain somewhere between 17 and 20 tons of food is wasted. This represents approximately a third all food in the country and would be enough to feed about 30 million of malnourished people around the world. Freegans find it outrageous that we are taking food from hungry countries just to throw it in the bin. For whatever reason, freegans may have found a way to do the impossible: eat a free meal–or several of them. And, even if their stand may not change the wasteful nature of our society, it does brings attention to the fact that we do, sometimes, surround ourselves with things we don’t actually need and it challenges us to live on less. Their way of living can also come as a comfort for someone going through a rough economical patch. Just think, if these people can live on nothing, maybe you can go a couple of months without eating out and going to the movies?
edly t r a e holeh skip‘I’d w mend e-as m o c re anyon e o t g pin ee th e as s o t much f the wast o scale ree food’ tf to ge
Katherine Hibbert, the champion of freeganism.
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My free meal
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s a student, new to the city and fresh from across the Atlantic, I was shocked with how expensive life can get for a girl in London, so I decided to give freeganism a chance. After a quick research online, I learned that one of the best places to go bin diving was the New Covent Garden Market, a whole sale food market, south of the river. Apparently, since they only sell to supermarkets and restaurants, some products that are still perfectly edible get thrown away because they’re no longer sell-
able. However, some people in these websites warned about the increased security measures in the place and advised against going there after dark. That suited me perfectly, as I was not about to go searching through waste bins in the middle of the night. Someone mentioned that the best time to go was between six and ten in the morning, so the next day I woke up really early and, after taking two tubes and a bus ride, I arrived to the gates of the market, in the middle of nowhere–or so it felt to me. I walked into the place, which is free–cars get charged five pounds– and it was nothing like I had imagined. I don’t think most people have a clue of where their food comes from. I, for one, had something much more picturesque in mind, but the market resembled more closely to an old airplane hangar than to the merry place that pops into your mind when you hear the word ‘mar-
ket’. Most businesses were closed and the ones that were open did not seem very busy. I started my search for veggies and I was amazed at what I found. I had pictured myself, literally, diving into bins and searching through smelly rotten potatoes for something fit for human consumption–I even had rubber gloves in my purse. However, I found boxes filled with perfect-looking vegetables, in neatly stacked boxes, right next to the waste containers, just waiting to be disposed of. I even had my doubts whether they were actually garbage, so I asked a kind looking worker who confirmed that they were, in fact, throwing that food away. I then asked if I could have some and he told me ‘Take all you want. It’s going to the bins anyways’. I asked if a lot of people came around requesting food and he said ‘Yeah, loads of them. They arrive from midnight, all
through the night. Loads of people come, but sometimes policemen arrive and take all of them away’. I was happy I did not run into the authorities because bin diving, while not strictly illegal, is still in a grey area of the law. After about an hour in which I went through every bin and dumpster in sight, I called it a day. On my way home, I made a stop at Tesco where I bought some chicken breasts–I couldn’t face eating poultry out of a dumpster. When I got home, I disinfected my plunder. I used the peppers and some chicken to cook fajitas and I had grapes for dessert. It was not a one hundred per cent free meal, because I did pay approximately £2 for the chicken I used, but I’d say that’s still pretty
cheap. And I still had loads of vegetables left for the rest week. When I was in Tesco I did a little detour to the greens section and summed the prices of my ‘garbage’ veggies to see how much money my day as a freegan had saved me. As it turns out I had in my fridge £11.57 worth of free food. I couldn’t help but turning the money in my fridge into money in my closet. I went to Primark and turned my savings into a pair of shoes, which–in the spirit of not wasting–I will be sure not to throw away for as long as they’re wearable. I promise.
For the ladies If you’re a girl, you’re bound to be asked out by guys. Some guys you may like some you may not. However, don’t waste any chance. Maybe this guy isn’t the love of your life, but what would you have done on a boring Wednesday night anyway? Get yourself out there every opportunity you get and always think of it this way: if you don’t even have fun, at least you got a free meal out it–at a nice restaurant, with any luck.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 13
About to chop some peppers, Katherine Brown is wearing a white and silver animal print scuba peplum top, £8, red leather driving gloves, £7, strappy red and black heeled sandals, £16, and a metallic necklace, £6, all Primark. Her black leatherlook skinny jeans, £20, are Zara.
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No place for a lady The kitchen is no longer a place where all ladies feels at home, but most modern women have to cook their own dinners anyways.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine  15
Just finished washing the dishes, Katherine is wearing a metallic dress with a peplum,£29.99, H&M. From her neck hangs a silver necklace with faux diamonds, £3, Primark.
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Katherine discovers how complicated cooking eggs can be while wearing a white jacket, £40, and a black pencil skirt, £28, both with peplums and from River Island. She complements her look with a golden ring, £1.50, and black and gold strappy sandals, £18, both Primark.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 17
Katherine is doing the laundry wearing a black lace bra, £5, Primark. Her red short jacket, £29.99, cropped sheer polka dot top, £7.99, and silver wedge booties, £29.99, are all H&M. The black leather shorts, £30, are River Island. The faux diamonds necklace is vintage.
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Sitting in the counter, Katherine wears a black bustier, £40, and a black pencil skirt with a peplum in the front, £28, both River Island. Her necklaces are both vintage and the black strappy sandal with platform visible in the background, £18, is Primark.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 19
Katherine gave up on cooking wearing a metallic top, ÂŁ24.99, H&M. Her necklace is vingtage and belongs to the stylist. The bracelet is Primark and it belongs to the assistant. PHOTOGRAPHER Scott Archibald FASHION Gabriela Cambero MAKE-UP Nuria Soriano ASSISTANT Alejandra Cambero
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December 2012 CHEAP magazine  21
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Polka dots NOTD
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That’s Nails Of The Day to you, missy.
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ails have become as much an accessory as your purse. Do you spend hours on Pinterest or Instagram looking at impossibly intricate nail polishes and wish you had the cash to get a professional manicure every week? Well if you’re into the polka dots nails–as is everybody on the internet is these days–you can get them at the comfort of your bed, for a budget fit for your wallet. The only things you need are a hair grip, two nail polishes of your preference and a top coat or clear nail polish. You’re bound to have a hair grip lying around and, as for the nail polishes; you can get them really cheap at any supermarket. I got these at £2.99 a piece and, obviously, I didn’t use them all up.
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1Apply two coats of your base colour. You have to leave the first coat dry before applying the second one.
2 In a sheet of paper, put a drop of the colour of your choice for the dots. I chose silver foil.
3 Using the rubber end of the hair grip, apply the dots, starting with a line in the centre of the nail and working your way out. This will make the dots symmetrical.
4 Apply top coat or clear nail polish for maximum duration. You just saved yourself £10 to £30, depending on the beauty salon of your choice. Granted, there’s nothing like being pampered by a professional, but if you throw in a glass of wine and a bath, you can pamper yourself and get a cheap, most professional looking manicure, a few pounds.
Don’t give up on your old
nail polish
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ou can make your manicure even cheaper by using old nail polishes. We have all been there: it’s been a while since you last painted your nails in that weird neon yellow hue that your ex-boyfriend hated, but he’s gone so you’ll give it another go. You open the bottle only to discover that your polish is no longer the fluid it’s supposed to be but a thick, chunky substance that’s not suitable to get anywhere near your nails. Don’t run out and buy a new bottle. Nail polish never goes bad. You just need some nail polish remover to dissolve the dry contents of your flask. Add a little and shake it. Voilá, it’s as good as new. You just saved yourself a the cost of a whole new bottle.
Moisturize your hands young
By Gabriela Cambero
Only for the daring Next time you walk into a department store and have every clerk in the beauty department cut your path trying to sell you something, play along, take your time and walk around the counters, in your best impression of an undecided costumer. You’ll be sure to walk out of there with a year’s worth of beauty products in samples.
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o manicure can look amazing in ugly looking hands, and nothing makes the skin in your hands look worse than lack of moisturizing. The skin in your hands tends to be dry–even if you have oily-type skin in your face–and, as we are prone to wash them constantly throughout the day, their condition only worsens. During the winter, the cold makes taking extra care of them of the utmost importance. Plus, as most women only worry about the state of the skin in their faces, hands are usually tell-tale signs of your age. Moisturizers can come in pricey at department stores, but you can
treat your hands with things you can find in your kitchen.
1 Pour a little olive oil in a con-
tainer and put it in the microwave for a few seconds. You want to get it warm for a better absorption through your skin.
2 Add some sea salt and some drops of lemon.
You have created a great moisturizer that, by rubbing your hands with the salt grains, will also act as an exfoliator. After using it just rinse and dry. This way, you’ll keep your hands looking fresh during the winter months and flaunt your manicure in a perfect frame.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine 23
The lipstick challenge By Gabriela Cambero
We are willing to pay the price for a designer lipstick but, are we able to tell it apart? The challenge is to be a smart consumer and to see beyond the brand.
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f given the choice between a tube of Chanel or Barry M red lipstick, it’s safe to say that any woman would chose the sleek, black and gold designer classic over the cheap looking drugstore brand. However, if the brand remained a mystery and the choice was based purely on performance, the choice may not be as clear. We asked Ale, a student who lives in Camden Town, to take her pick between the two lipsticks. As expected, she picked the Chanel. We then proceeded to blindfold her and apply both lipsticks, one in the upper and one in the lower lip.
When asked if she felt any difference in her lips–without removing the blindfold–she said she couldn’t detect which was which but that ‘you can only tell a Chanel red by looking at it’. So we removed the blindfold and placed her in front of a mirror. The choice between lipsticks suddenly became harder. ‘They both look like they have almost the same texture but the colour looks slightly different. I’m going to go with the bottom lip, it looks redder. That’s the Chanel.’ As it turns out, she was wrong. Ale had chosen the lipstick she liked better on her lips and it wasn’t an
24 CHEAP magazine December 2012
expensive designer brand, but the cheap drugstore Barry M tube. How many women, who in a store will invariable go for Chanel, would actually prefer the look of a cheaper alternative? We need to become more savvy consumers, not let Brad Pitt ads play tricks with our minds, and actually take a good hard look at the product we’re buying. Ale puts it simply, ‘Maybe next time I’ll try on the brand I want and a cheaper alternative, to see if I spot any differences, before I actually spend unnecessarily.’
Chanel Rouge Allure
Barry M Lip Paint
WHERE? Selfridges
WHERE? Boots
HOW MUCH? £25
HOW MUCH? £4.49
WHY?
WHY?
If you’re at a party and you want to fix your lips, of course you want this baby coming out of your purse. And even if no one else sees it, sometimes the knowledge that you’re wearing wa certain brand makes you feel special and more confident. Also, its quality is probably unquestionable and you are most likely buying the best quality ingredients there are, even if you don’t feel it, your lips probably will appreciate it.
Well, it’s obviously the cheapest choice and, honestly, no one–not even you–will be able to tell the difference. Also, for the same amount of money, you’ll be able to get five different shades. Finally, if you go to boots.com and look it up, you can see the comments of people who have actually used the product. In this case, they’re all very positive and don’t seem to find a fault in it.
You probably didn’t know this about lipstick... Lipstick can last longer if you keep it in the fridge. More lipsticks are sold on gloomy or rainy days. Egyptian women of ancient times were the first to tint their lips and they used a purple-red colour. In eighteenth century, the British Parliament passed a law banning coloured lips, as women who lured men into matrimony using red dye on their lips were deemed to be witches.
The more lipstick you wear, the more often you’ll have to use the toilet. The castor oil contained in most lipsticks causes an increased level of urination.
About 5% of the lipsticks are end up on cups of coffee or tea, and about another 5% end up inside women’s stomachs.
During the French revoNearly 70% of men think lution, wearing lipstick that red lipstick is sexy and meant you sympathized a sign of success. with the aristocracy and could get you guillotined. A man swallows up to 6 pounds of lipstick during Queen Elizabeth II has her his life, while a woman will own lipstick, called The sallow up to 17 pounds. Balmoral, made in 1952 to match her coronation George Washington wore robes. lipstick. December 2012 CHEAP magazine 25
Eye Candy By Gabriela Cambero
Y
ou can enjoy the beauty of the most wonderful designer pieces for absolutely zero pounds. How? Why window shopping, of course. It’s fun and it’s free. Take a walk down Bond Street or Sloane Street, and enjoy the exquisite window displays–some of which look more like contemporary art installations than anything else¬–or got into the boutiques and experience the ultimate shopping experience, trying on everything you fancy, while you’re offered drinks
26 CHEAP magazine December 2012
Dolce & Gabanna Fall 2012 Platform Sandal
by the most attentive clerks. In the end, just say that you have to think about it and you’ll return later.
This source of entertainment is likely to leave you a bit frustrated, but I can guarantee you’ll come out of it having spent nothing at all. You won’t buy anything because you probably can’t afford any of it, but I bet you’ll enjoy every second of the experience. Plus, you’ll be sure to get inspiration for the next time you go bargain hunting in a vintage market.
December 2012 CHEAP magazine  27
28  CHEAP magazine December 2012