Last week I talked about how my ongoing beauty maintenance (tinting and shaping my ultra-blonde lashes and brows every four to six weeks) is a constant drain on my wallet. I’ve already given my beloved (but rather pricey) beauty therapist the flick after calculating that I was shelling out £720 over a 12 month period. So I visited the London College of Beauty Therapy for a much cheaper series of treatments that would cost a total of £180 over a year - a massive saving of £540!

But now I’m starting to wonder … can I go cheaper? And the answer, of course, is a resoundingly yes! I’ve been researching some DIY treatments, and found a home eyelash and brow dye kit from Boots. The best part? It costs the grand total of £7.10, and there’s apparently enough product to last for 12 months. Potentially a saving of another £172.90.

So I put the kit to the test tonight to see if it (a) was relatively straight-forward and easy to apply and (b) stands up to professional salon standards. The verdict? Not half bad. Granted, it was another beauty “chore” and involved a bit of time on my part, but it was really nothing compared to the time taken to actually get to and from salons in London.

Applying the tint itself was really easy, but I had to enlist the help of my husband to really get the job done right. So I would recommend calling a friend if you want to try it at home. And the results were quite good. Admittedly, the dye itself isn’t as dark as my usual therapist, but I might try topping it up again tomorrow. Considering I’m saving a grand total of £712.90 per annum, I’m not really complaining! Next up? My brows.

Total spent: £7.10/annum
Cost of eyelash and brow tinting over 12 months: £720
Total saved: £712.90/annum