Being rich doesn't come cheap. Especially for 1%er stay at home moms.

"Glam SAHMs," a termed coined in Wednesday Martin's new memoir about living among chic Manhattan mommies, are spending what she tallies as tens -- if not hundreds -- of thousands of dollars each year to tame their hair, faces and bodies into perfection.
The women she described in "Primates of Park Avenue" are mostly 30-somethings who hold degrees from the country's top schools. They're also married to "Masters of the Universes," and according to Martin, they've forgone the workplace in order to act like CEOs of their Upper East Side homes. They're dripping in of-the-moment designer clothes, bags and shoes, exercised "to a razor's edge," and anxiously hoisting their private school children and themselves up high society's social ladder.
All that social jockeying and tight ship-running comes at a price. Based on her interactions and observations with about 100 Glam SAHMs over the course of six years living among them on the Upper East Side, Martin detailed the annual head-to-toe cost of their self-maintenance, from head to toned body to stiletto.
Here's how she breaks it down and what it amounts to every year:
Hair and scalp
Haircut & color (5x / yr @ $500) $2,500 and blowout (weekly @ $70 per, incl. tip) $3,500 = $6,000
Hair & makeup stylist for events (10x / year @ $150) = $1,500
Consult and follow-up with specialist who does not accept insurance, regarding hair loss due to color, stress, hormones, and/or autoimmune issues caused by stress and hormones = $2,000
Face
Quarterly Botox, Restylane, and fillers ($1,000 x 4) = $4,000
Monthly peel ($300 x 12) = $3,600
Monthly facial ($250 x 12) = $3,000
Monthly brows: waxing, tweezing, surgaring, or stringing ($50 x 12) = $600
Laser (for sun damage, collagen stimulation, etc.) = $2,500
Facial skin-care products (cleanser, moisturizer, serum, sunblock, eye cream) = $1,500
Facial makeup = $1,000
Body
Exercise classes = $3,500
Personal trainer = $7,500
Nutritionist = $1,500
Juice cleanses = $3,500 if weekly
Mani/pedi = $2,000
Massage = $9,000 if weekly
Spray tan = $500
Spa getaway/s = $8,000 if biannually
Plastic surgery incl. breast augmentation, lipo = wild-card items
Wardrobe
Seasonal, Fall/Winter = $3,000-$20,000
Seasonal, Spring/Summer = $3,000-20,000
Events = $5,000 - $20,000
Resort wear, Hamptons = $5,000
Resort wear, Palm Beach = $5,000
Resort wear, Aspen (ski jacket, pants, hat/s, gloves) = $2,500
Shoes/boots = $5,000-$8,000
Bags = $5,000-$10,000

All told, Martin's low-end estimate for what a glam SAHM spends on her own outward upkeep each year is about $90,000. On the high end, it can add up to $150,000.

I have read about these types before.  Although the phrase "stay at home mom" may be accurate in a technical sense (they stay at home rather than work in a job, and they are mothers), it is not the typical connotation.

Usually, when someone thinks of a stay at home mom (or at least, when I think of one), the image that come to mind is of a mother who take charge of caring for the household, and for raising the children.  For the women described in the article, usually they have a team of nannies raising the children, and a team of servants caring for the house.  Typical stay at home moms work, although not in a employment sense.  The women in the article seem to do everything except work.

I agree. It's an abuse of the term.

I agree, Ladislaus. They really are sorry excuses for human beings. They are SO FAR OUT THERE from the lifestyle of the common man. I mean, spending more on their "flesh" in a year than I earned in 2 years (back when I was full time employed as a computer programmer).

And the funny thing is, they aren't really fooling anyone. At least not me. Have you ever seen one of those 60 year olds that thinks they look 30 or 40? It's a joke. I wouldn't buy it for a minute. They're 60 with a bunch of makeup on (or botox in) their faces, with fake and/or dyed hair.

My pet peeve is reading those advertisements (including many SPAM e-mails) "Grandma looks 30" and stuff like that.  Well, my response is: Don't insult thirty-year-olds! They look way better than that.

I think it's creepy when a septuagenarian (70-something) dolls herself up with science and makeup to TRY to look much younger.

What ultimately creates this visceral repugnance in me is that these women live like low-level beasts, with completely dormant higher faculties, caring for nothing other than their flesh.  They think of themselves (and others) as little more than sacks of meat.  And, at the same time, I pity them.  At the end they will inevitably lose the battle and their flesh will be worm-food just like any other person who may never have had physical beauty, and all they will remain with is the horror of their souls ... for eternity.  Upon being reunited with their flesh at the Resurrection, their bodies will be a horror to behold, matching the state of their souls, while those who care little for their bodies during life will in fact receive very beautiful ones.  Those who love their bodies will lose them; those who care little for them will ironically receive beautiful ones to match their souls.

The figures are putting a lot of assumptions in there of frequency and cost.  It's not wrong for a woman to take care of herself even at a high end salon. It doesn't mean she has a bad character.
 
I have an appointment for a blow-out on Monday, it doesn't mean I am trying to look 20 years younger or I am caring only for my flesh, so ridiculous.

It's frivolous.  My opinion is they aren't really Moms.  

Quote from: Viva Cristo Rey

It's frivolous.  My opinion is they aren't really Moms.  

Why thumb down me.  These are the type of women like Delores stated earlier that has nannies, personal chefs, house cleaners etc. all raising the children while Mommy is wasting money.  

Perhaps the downthumber will reply when she gets back from her "blow-out" appointment today.