ParapherNAILia: Meet Ms. Manicure and Ms. Pedicure

In 2009, I'm all about the poor girl's spa day. The phrase was coined by my roommate and it entails a DIY mani/pedi, a deep conditioning treatment administered by YOU, a trip to the sauna at your gym, and a super thrifty massage at your neighborhood nail salon. To make your DIY mani/pedi more luxurious (and more professional), I suggest enlisting the help of my two new friends, Ms. Manicure and Ms. Pedicure.

New for Spring 2009, Ms. Manicure's Handy Dandy Mani includes all you need for a DIY mani on the cheap. It's even great if you haven't fully weaned yourself off of salon manis and want to tote your own nail paraphernailia so you don't have to use the manicurist's skeevy tools. For $10, you get:

-cuticle nippers
-nail clippers
-nail scissors
-wood cuticle sticks
-nail brush
-washable salon board
-4-way nail buffer
-slant-tip tweezers

An excellent value, all packaged in storable, delightfully girly pink bag.



The Ms. Pedicure Foot Spahh Set ($13) houses :
-Smooth Talker, a tool to stop calluses before they even start.
-Heeling Fine, an intensive cream that smoothes and softens heels.
-Smoothy Groovy, a foot brush and pumice stone combo
-Rock n' Sole, a pumice stone

This set is also new for Spring 2009.

Tell me: In what ways have you cut back? Tell me your most creative poor girl spa suggestions in the comments.

Don't Need No Credit Card To Ride This Train Week: Kings & Queens King of Sumatra Pepper Bergamot Soap

Hello all, and WELCOME to Don't Need No Credit Card to Ride This Train Week! Obv, the name is a line from Huey Lewis and the News' Power of Love, a.k.a. the theme song of one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future.

This beauty theme week is inspired no doubt by These Economic Times. Every product I feature during DNNCCTRTT Week will be under $10. I've been drugstore-ing it for months to bring you suggestions to spend your money the best way possible.

The first item is Kings & Queens King of Sumatra Pepper Bergamot Soap ($6). If you like Bliss' Blood Orange + White Pepper line, you'll ADORE Pepper Bergamot. It's an unlikely combo, but pepper and citrus is brisk, refreshing, and tempered with a hint of sweet. In case you don't know, Kings & Queens is a truly fantastic line of bargain-priced products with a clever marketing platform based on history. The line educates consumers about the decadance of royals past with a fun twist. I've previously reviewed their phenom George III Lime Shower Gel.

According to the press release: Black Pepper was the most sought-after spice from antiquity to the Middle Ages. One of its best qualities comes from Sumatra, where legends about the constant struggle between local kings, colonialists, and pirates are still alive. Fortunately, today there is no need to fight for pepper... since we can enjoy it at any time, even in a scandalous combination with Bergamot.

The soap is long-lasting, superfoamy, and smells utterly delish. It includes a blend of pomegranate, blue Egyptian lotus an dmalachite extracts. I also have to throw in a quick recommendation for the brand's Aztec King Vanilla Pear Shower Gel ($9). In pre-Columbian Mexico, vanilla was considered a potent aphrodisiac, which is why the Aztec kings and their many wives consumed countless cups of vanilla drinks every day. The pearlescent shower gel smells fresh without being too sugary and leaves skin soft.

King & Queens products are sold at Beauty.com, Fred Segal, and Skinstore.com.

Suavenomics and Meet Jenny McCarthy in Times Square Today!

In this dismal economy, families are realizing that it’s totes possible to live beautifully for less and get quality products without paying the price -- and this is something Suave has stood for and known for more than 70 years, and the brand calls it Suavenomics. Genius, right? BT dubs, Suave is one of my FAVE recessionista brands. My faves from the line include their Exhale Calming Skin Therapy Body Wash in Lavender Vanilla ($4, pictured, left), their Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant in Sweet Pea & Violet ($3.79 for TWO).

As part of the Suavenomics philosophy of living well for less, Jenny McCarthy will be in Times Square today, Wednesday, January 14 to help Suave do its part to keep America looking beautiful by offering a FREE bottle of Suave to consumers and explaining how women everywhere can stay beautiful without breaking the bank.

Log onto Suave.com today for details on how you can get your FREE full-size bottle of high performance Suave if you're not in NYC.