LEIGH CAMPBELL: The beauty habits I used to turn my nose up at.

Confession: I used to be a beauty snob.

I started out in beauty in my early 20s when I became the beauty editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. I suddenly had thousands of free beauty products and more services at my disposal than I could ever dream of.

I could get my hair cut and coloured without getting my wallet out at pretty much any salon in Sydney. Get a facial for free wherever I went. 

And I didn’t spend a cent on beauty products for many moons.

Watch 5 Minutes With Leigh | Applying mascara and postpartum hair loss. Post continues after video. 

After years of free stuff, I guess I developed a bit of an attitude that some beauty habits were beneath me.

Gross, right?

Since that time (well over a decade ago), my approach to beauty has broadened and I've been humbled by the reality of my life now. 

I’m a busy woman, and a mum, and I don't have endless hours to primp and preen like I used to. Sure, I still get access to a lot of free beauty stuff, but I spend my own money and - more importantly - my valuable time wisely these days on the beauty stuff that I love.

So in the interest of celebrating not being such a d*ck, I thought I’d share three things I used to turn my nose up at that I now repeat on a regular basis.

1. Colouring my hair at home.

I used to get my hair coloured in the salon every three weeks. Which took several hours each visit. WHAT?!

Current Leigh can’t even fathom having that sort of time or luxury. 

Now I very proudly colour my own roots at home regularly and also dabble in doing my own highlights every now and again. I still get a pro to fix it up maybe twice a year, but for the most part I’m a happy at-home hair colour-er.

Read more from Leigh: Yep, I did my own balayage at home. Here's how it went.

2. Stick on nails.

I used to think these were for tweens only, but both my attitude and the products in this category have come a long way since then. I also get quite bad anxiety getting a manicure as I don't like not being able to use my hands, so a quick set of stick on nails (my faves are from Dashing Diva) are perfect for when I have an event to go to.

They look really believable and I can take them off without damaging my nail underneath when I’m done.

Listen to Leigh on You Beauty, the twice-weekly podcast for your face. Post continues below.

3. Shaving my arms.

I feel there’s an unspoken snobbery when it comes to which sort of hair removal method you opt for. For some reason, shaving is the lowest in terms of classiness. I hated my hairy arms for so long, but waxing them meant I had to wait ages for them to grow back so it could be done again. 

It was also expensive and time-consuming. The day I started shaving my forearms was a lightbulb moment for me. They could be smooth in 30 seconds any time I wanted (I do it in the shower), and I didn’t need to be embarrassed that I achieved that through shaving. 

And no, they don't grow back thicker or darker - that's a big shaving myth.

Feature Image: Instagram @leighcampbell / Mamamia.