About/Contact

Hello, and Welcome!

I'm G., and my blog is all about beauty on a budget. I've been writing Nouveau Cheap since 2009, but I've been passionate about drugstore makeup since way back when I was a little girl who would stare wide-eyed at the Maybelline Kissing Potions at my local Thrifty Drugstore. While my blog is primarily devoted to drugstore makeup and beauty products, I also blog about higher-end beauty (but only when I'm sharing tips about how to get expensive beauty products at a discount!).

I'm a regular consumer (not an industry insider) with over three decades of beauty obsession under my belt. I LOVE sharing tips, product reviews, new product sightings, and sale info with my readers, and I make it a point to include as much detail as humanly possible in all of my blog posts (and often a healthy dose of humor).

I'm a native of San Diego, CA, where I reside with my boyfriend, affectionately known here as "Mr. G." I'm a film buff (everything from Alphaville to Valley Girl), I love to cook, I love to lose myself in good books, and I love to do crafty things like jewelry-making, knitting, and origami (though I'm horrible at all of the above). I have a bachelor's degree in English and writing has always been my number one passion. I do not have a YouTube channel because, quite frankly, I'm a much better writer than speaker.

More About Me

My most-listened-to playlist includes songs by Queens of the Stone Age, Hall & Oates, Gang Starr, Pavement, Foo Fighters, Social Distortion, Heart, Billy Joel, Etta James, Foreigner, Pearl Jam, Chromeo, Louis Jordan, Led Zeppelin, The Growlers, Joy Division, and Duran Duran. So yeah, I'm all over the place when it comes to music! For beauty products, I love pinky-brown lipsticks, pale blue and green creme nail polishes, and perfumes that smell like marshmallows, muguet, and linden flower. I also have a weakness for gimmicky beauty products and I have a compulsion to try (and review) them all. Know of a good three-in-one product that claims to exfoliate feet, remove dark under eye circles and water your plants? I'm THERE.

I was ten years old in 1980, so that makes me a legit Child of the Eighties. If you love 80s music, movies, and pop culture, we could be best friends. (Seriously. If you get my references, I will love you forever.)

The Best Way to Contact Me

Whether you're a reader with a hot tip or new product sighting you'd like to share, or a brand or PR professional who would like to discuss a product review, the very best way to contact me is via my email address: nouveaucheap(at)gmail(dot)com. Alternatively, you can click the little envelope icon located on the right-hand sidebar of this blog.

Why "Nouveau Cheap"?

When I first started my blog, I wanted a unique name that also conveyed the idea that you don't have to sacrifice beauty just because you're on a budget. Nouveau Cheap is a play on the phrase "nouveau chic" and to me, Nouveau Cheap means: "Yes, I'm thrifty, but this $1 lipstick was selected with laser-like precision and you'll probably think it's Chanel when you see me wearing it!"

Have a tip? Share with us!

Since 2009, this blog has grown, very organically, into a tight-knit (but very welcoming!) little community. We all love sharing beauty-related tips and info with each other here, and you're welcome and encouraged to do so by clicking the "You Tell Me" page on the top navigation bar of this blog above (the You Tell Me page is also an excellent source for getting tips from other readers). If you have photos of a new product you'd like to submit to me, please do so! Just scroll up to the "best way to contact me" section.

Blog Stats* (as of October 2015)

9.5 million global visitors to date

67 million page views to date

1 million monthly page views

250,000 monthly unique visitors

*source: Google Analytics

In the Press

Nouveau Cheap has been mentioned in the New York Times and featured in magazines such as SmartShop and Woman's Day. I've also been fortunate enough to appear in a Wet n Wild Cosmetics in-store display, and some other pretty neat things. If you'd like to see for yourself, click here. 

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Artwork courtesy: Ling Yeung Graphic Design