A Cuban expatriate in Europe surprised her followers by revealing, in a video posted on TikTok, that there are expenses she used to allow herself in Cuba that, paradoxically, she no longer engages in despite having greater financial means now.
The creator, identified as @legmyross, recorded the clip from inside her car while having coffee and listed three specific categories: beauty services, perfumes, and impulsive shopping in stores.
"Things I allowed myself while living in Cuba that now, living in Europe with more possibilities, I do not allow myself," she began, setting the tone for the entire reflection.
The first of those lost habits is personal care in the hands of professionals. On the island, she spent money month after month on nails, hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and keratin treatments. "When I lived in Cuba, I dedicated a lot of money to nails, hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes month after month," she recalled. Today, she trims, files, and moisturizes her nails at home, and going to the salon has been completely removed from her routine.
This contrasts with the current prices of beauty services in Cuba, where a basic manicure can cost around 500 Cuban pesos and a keratin treatment can reach up to 9,000 CUP depending on the length of the hair, figures that relative to their context many Cuban women considered a regular expense.
The second point he mentioned was perfumes. He admits that in Cuba he loved expensive fragrances—especially men's— and did not hesitate to spend on them. Since he emigrated, he hasn't bought a single one.
"Since I've been living here, I haven't bought a single one; I literally don't wear perfume," she stated. She attributes part of the change to her pregnancy, after which she could no longer tolerate any fragrance. Now she substitutes the scent with body wash, body lotion, scented beads for her laundry, and hair perfume. "People in Yuma smell good because of their perfume; what really smells good is the fabric softener," she humorously pointed out.
The third habit described is that of impulse buying. Remember that with 20 dollars —or its equivalent in Cuban currency— she would enter a store and come out loaded with chocolates and "junk" without anything of real utility left.
"I remember having 20 dollars in my hand, and I'd walk into a store and come out buying junk, just little trinkets, like some chocolate, and... I'd get home and have nothing useful from the shopping," he recounted. In the European supermarket, on the other hand, he scans each product before putting it in the cart and doesn't spend money on alcohol or nightclub entry.
This type of reflection is part of a very active trend among Cuban emigrants who share their lifestyle changes on social media, especially in Spain and other European countries. While some share what they can now afford outside the island, others —like @legmyross— describe the reverse phenomenon: image and leisure expenses they prioritized in Cuba, which they have stopped prioritizing abroad.
The cultural significance of personal care in Cuba, the social pressure of the environment, and the relatively lower prices of aesthetic services on the island partly explain why many emigrants experienced certain aspects of life better in Cuba than abroad, at least concerning personal image.
"I remember that before I would go with five dollars and a dollar to look back," the author concluded, encapsulating the different relationship she had with money when she lived on the island in a single image.
Filed under: