A woman from Essex has splashes out £30,000 a year getting dolled up for weekly dates with her boyfriend – even though she doesn’t even leave her sofa because he’s in prison. Saffron Boswell, 26, gets regular beauty treatments including filler, anti-wrinkle jabs, lash extensions, and blow dries to ensure she looks picture-perfect for her boyfriend, Luke for their weekly FaceTime dates.
The content creator says video calls with the 39-year-old are ‘more relaxed’ than monthly prison visits as it’s just the two of them on the call. Despie being together for eight years Saffron says she still gets ‘butterflies’ when she sees Luke, who she says is behind bars for charges that aren’t violent.
Saffron makes ‘get ready with me’ videos to see her boyfriend and some of them have gone viral. A TikTok clip captioned ‘glow up with me for HMP’ shows her extensive glam routine as she prepared seeing Luke who’s been in prison for three-and-a-half years. The video went viral, racking up more than 110,000 likes, re-posts and comments.
Saffron, from Brentwood, Essex, said: “He’s been in prison for three-and-a-half years now, it’s been extremely difficult. We did try to end things for a good six months at one point but we ended up getting back together again because we realised we just couldn’t be apart.
“The in-person dates are a lot better because we get to be together physically, but I do believe that Facetime is more relaxed because it’s just the two of us. Whereas when I go and see him there’s all the other people there as well.
“I get dressed-up even if I’m just FaceTiming him from the sofa. I usually go to the hairdressers and get a blow-dry, if I’ve got time then I’ll go and get a wax but if not then I just have a full-body shave. I’ll do a full face of make-up, pick a cute outfit, put some perfume on, and then set my tripod up.
“In my head it’s the same thing as if we were going on a real date. If I was just sat in the same old pyjamas from the morning then I’d feel like a bit of a scruff. I still get nervous. When you’re with someone for a long time it just becomes normal.
“In this sort of situation we’re not together all the time, so it feels like we’re in the beginning and in the early stages of dating again. It helps to keep it exciting too. In this situation you need anything that you can hold onto and I think it helps having something to look forward to.”
Saffron says she undergoes more extravagant preparation for her visits to the prison, spending thousands of pounds on treatments that range from lip and chin filler to £2,000 hair extensions, reports Wales Online.
Saffron said: “I get regular treatments like botox, a vampire facial and skin boosters – that kind of thing. I try and time my treatments so that they fall before a visit. I even cancelled a visit because my eyebrow girl cancelled on me and then she rescheduled it on a visit day and I was like ‘no, I need to get my brows done’.
“I think he just knows me, so he was like ‘sure babe’. He’s always complimentary of my appearance. He’s always experienced this ever since we first got together so for him I think it’s just normal.”
Saffron says some of the negative comments she’s received online are ‘laughable’. She said: “The large perception is that it’s just embarrassing or it’s a waste of time and money. I think if that affected me then I wouldn’t post anymore but I really couldn’t give a damn. I think it’s laughable because in my head, as individuals, we should all live life exactly the way that we want to, so I do just think that these people are incredibly small minded.
“God forbid anything happened to them in their life because I just think they wouldn’t be able to cope. I’m making an investment in myself and it helps me to feel good as an individual.”
Since sharing the two clips online, Saffron’s TikTok videos have gone viral, racking up a combined total of more than 1,604,092 views, likes, shares and comments. One user commented: “People like this actually exist and are allowed to have agency over their own finances and drive and stuff.” Another wrote: “Waste of money. Doing all this for a low life as well.”
A third person said: “This is actually really cute.” Another user commented: “These women on here are just bitter and unsatisfied with their own lives. I am sure you have a stronger relationship and most of them and their partners. Keep doing what makes you happy.”
TOTAL TREATMENT COSTS PER YEAR
- Anti-wrinkle jab (forehead and chin) – £3,033
- Filler (under eye, nose and lip) – £7,367
- Skin booster – £1,733
- Vampire facial – £3,466
- Ombre brows – £1,400
- Hair colour and extensions – £7,000
- Lash extensions – £1,300
- Nails – £3,999
- New outfits – £960
- TOTAL =£30,258
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