With our hectic, chock-full schedules, who has the time (or money) for a full body massage? While escaping for a couple of hours into spa bliss may be unrealistic, a chair massage can be the next best thing -- especially if you're a sucker for having your tense muscles kneaded.
Whether you get it done at the mall, at a nail salon or even your local Whole Foods, a chair massage will typically find you seated in an ergonomically designed chair as the masseuse manipulates your neck, back and shoulder muscles (those that can be adversely affected by sitting at a desk all day) on top of your clothes for the going rate of a dollar a minute. Think a short rubdown won't make any difference? Think again. A study done by the Touch Research Institute in Miami revealed that regular 15-minute chair massages reduce stress, anxiety and depression! Oh, and they feel heavenly too. (And, if you saw that episode of "Modern Family" where Claire/Julie Bowen got hers, you know it's only too true.)
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Revisit a classic perfume
Fragrance is a powerful thing -- one whiff of a particular scent can take you back to another place and time. Love's Baby Soft by Dana, $9.99 is a classic scent that many of us grew up with because, well, it's inexpensive and teen/tween friendly. Launched in 1974, the familiar pink perfume is classified as "a refined, gentle floral fragrance" that boasts a blend of florals but for some, one spritz is tantamount to taking a walk down memory lane (remembering your bunk at camp, your first sleepover or maybe even "spin the bottle"). Memory-inducing notes aside, it smells much better than its small price tag would indicate and is teensy enough to toss into your gym bag or glove box to keep you powdery fresh at all times.
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Get a polish change
If paying for a bi-weekly manicure isn't in your budget, why not indulge in a professional polish change instead? No matter how well you're able to paint your own nails, a pro can out do you -- there's just something about a professional job that looks, well, professional. And, at an average of $7-$10 it's not cost-prohibitive. Added bonus? It's a great way to try that latest color trend without laying out the cash for a whole bottle when odds are you're only going to wear it once anyway. Go on, get one. You know you want to.
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Reach for a minty-fresh gloss
CoverGirl Wetslicks Amazement Lip Gloss, $5.99 is a rare (un-gooey) gloss that adds shine and color effectively, plus the added peppermint oil (courtesy of Crest) gives it a delightful tingle that also works to keep breath minty fresh.
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Sip a smoothie
Next time you're craving a sumptuous treat, why not indulge in something that's as good for you as it is delicious? While making a smoothie at home can guarantee that it contains nothing but healthy ingredients, some retail establishments, like Jamba Juice, also serve up real fruit drinks. But, as David Zinczenko, "Men's Health" editor and author of the very popular (and fun/shocking to read) "Eat This, Not That!" books points out, "Jamba Juice makes plenty of real-deal smoothies, but their menu is sullied with more than a few faux-fruit blends." The trick, as Zinczenko says, is to "Just make sure you choose the right one." When it comes to tasting great and offering up the best beauty-boosting ingredients, any of the "all fruit" options, which boast "just fruit and juice" and fewer than 250 calories in a 16 oz. cup -- are a good bet. In particular, the "Five Fruit Frenzy" and "Pomegranate Paradise" pack a good antioxidant punch that (among other benefits) is great for helping your skin fight free radicals. And, at just $3.85, it's healthy for your wallet too.
Reading women's magazines can be depressing. Not only do the pages showcase impossibly beautiful (and thin) models, most of the featured clothes and makeup products are cost prohibitive for the majority of us. Sure, it'd be nice to be able to drop $200 on a neck cream or $1,200 on a cute dress for work, but given the state of the economy (and most of our less-than-robust checking account balances) such exorbitant splurges likely aren't in the cards.
Of course, fashion and lifestyle magazines are meant to be aspirational, to be glossy representations of what life would be like "if" -- (the "if" being "if" you had unlimited funds, no job to show up for, a 5'10" 120 lb. frame, George Clooney on your arm and, why not, a pied a terre on St. Barth's) and that's why we read them -- to escape from our real lives for a brief moment in time. (And, yes, to glean a makeup, hair and fashion tip or two.)
But then, if we can't plunk down a black Amex at Prada or drop a bundle at Sephora, what's a girl (with limited means) to do when we're craving a little glamour, when we have a hankering for a "pick me up" of the beauty persuasion?
