I am not the kind of person who is easily lured by trendy items and services, nor am I fooled by the grossly inflated price tags which accompany them. It is astonishing how some businesses will take full advantage of newly encountered popularity by jacking up the prices so much that they end up turning away those of us who aren’t fooled by their greed. I recently checked into a certain beauty service which is incredibly popular, and is considered one of the hottest beauty trends. When I checked into the prices in my area, I was stunned. What I encountered was that the new-fangled service cost 5 to 6 times more than the comparable but more old-school service. Come on, really? There is no way in hell that I am willing to fork over a king’s ransom just so that I can try a new service. It’s not that I am cheap, but I am frugal, and I don’t think money should be thrown away like that.

When an item or service is hot and is accompanied by ridiculous prices, I always sit back and wait for the trend to die down. Once the hype has subsided, and the prices plummet, I begin to entertain the idea of making a purchase. If the item is destined for permanent price inflation, I completely and permanently abandon the idea of getting it. After all, it’s just stuff, and I can’t justify spending my hard-earned money on a THING which may quickly go out of style. You will never see me getting the hottest and latest Nike shoe design (the Nike Air Max 2016 is a great example, at $190!), just because everyone else is losing their minds about getting it. I mean, seriously, WHY do I need to spend almost $200 on an athletic shoe? That’s just stupid.

However, I may consider purchasing a trendy service if it still interests me. A good example of a service which is hot right now, and one which I have been considering, is lash extensions. Though I have great hair and skin, I wasn’t blessed in the eyelash department, as my wimpy, sparse lashes can attest to. The problem is that if I go to the best lash extension artist in L.A., I had better be prepared to shell out a considerable amount of money for the service. The question I have been asking myself is, should I pay significantly more for the best, especially since I would continue the touch-ups on a regular basis? I haven’t rushed myself on making a decision, and have decided to take all the time I need to research lash extensions before taking the plunge. I am even considering going through a course so that I can offer the service to my own patients and clients. You can bet that I won’t gouge my patients and clients for the service either. Inflated prices do not necessarily equate with the best service or product!