These days it’s nearly impossible to know what women are spending on the way they look. Someone with Instagram-flawless contouring might have honed her craft using the finest from the drugstore aisles, and the utterly makeup-free type might be spending thousands on laser treatments and serums. Enter our series What It Costs to Be Me, in which we’re asking interesting women for radical transparency.

Next up? Noria Morales, senior director of design and influencer partnerships at Target, 40, New York City. Her annual total? $10,418

The first thing you might notice about Noria Morales is her hair: long, luxuriant, and shot through with silver. But while Morales consistently gets noticed for her gray hair now, it’s not something she spent much time thinking about in the process of achieving it. “It’s been a subtle evolution in my hair, so much so that I didn’t really realize it was happening until a couple of years ago,” says Morales, whose started turning gray in her midthirties. “I’m still too lazy and not fearful enough of gray hair to start coloring.” In the same let-it-be spirit, Morales tries to take a natural approach with all her beauty regimens, prioritizing overall wellness. “I’m very cognizant that my body just turned 40,” she says. “So I’m passionate about sleep, working out, and minimizing the stress and anxiety I feel.”

But natural is not the same thing as being completely laissez-faire; hair color may not rank as a necessity, but Morales invests in sanity-saving treatments like massages and nails, and little luxuries that make self-care feel less like a chore (such as fancy Italian toothpaste and a straightening iron that eliminates the need for blow-dry appointments). And there’s one category that gets a free pass, moneywise: “I spend whatever I want on exercise,” she says. “It’s better than going to a bar.”

My shower routine: $140

I shampoo twice a week with Garnier Fructis ($6) or Pantene ($7). If someone has a great shampoo for hair that is graying, please tell me! Because I still haven’t found a great one. About once or twice a month I use deep-conditioning hair masks ($3 to $4 each). I like the single-serve packets you get at drugstores, and they feel great on my hair. I wash my body with Molton Brown Sandalwood body wash ($32). The smell just makes me happy. I use this fancy sponge ($20) that I got at New London Pharmacy, but honestly it doesn’t give me as good a lather (and I love a healthy lather) as a good ol’ pouf. One to two times a week, I wash my face in the shower with Grown Alchemist’s scrub ($67), which I bought at Heyday. Otherwise I try to just use water.

My hair regimen: approximately $624

I’ve never colored my hair. I cut it once or twice year at Serge Normant in New York City with Xavier ($200), and then if I need to get a quick trim, I go anywhere in my neighborhood (approximately $100), because I can’t be spending what I spend at Serge.

Because I try to limit hair washing to two times a week, I use a lot of dry shampoo, and I love the one from Living Proof ($24). My hair texture has really changed (those frizzy grays, blech), so I can’t just wash and air-dry like the good old days. The gray that is coming in is a totally different texture, and it’s really coarse and frizzy. But I also hate blow-drying. So now I usually do my “Sade” style with a slicked-back pony-braid until it dries (which usually takes four to six hours), followed by a straightening iron the next day with my GHD straightener ($199). That thing is amazing, and my hair always looks great after I use it. I go through phases with my hair, and there was a time when I had a DryBar membership and was getting a blowout every one or two weeks—but now that I have that straightener, I very rarely do it.

My daily skin and body care: $500

I hate washing my face, but I find deep satisfaction in removing my makeup with wipes (Patchology Clean AF, $20) or oil makeup remover (Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Makeup Solvent, $20). I like seeing the dirt come off. So gross, right? Then I have a slew of different natural products that I rotate through. I don’t stick to a routine. But I do love face mists. I use Pixi’s Milky Spray ($15), which I got at Target, and Kiehl’s Cactus Flower and Tibetan Ginseng ($27) all day long because I think it makes me look fresh—like I just exercised and took a shower. I also use a serum every day. I’m currently into Dermalogica Biolumin-C serum ($87), which I follow with Kahina Giving Beauty Argan Oil ($82). If I need cream on top of that, I like Goop’s Juice Beauty daytime moisturizer ($100).

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