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From home hair coloring to smoothie makers, do-it-yourself products can help keep your bank account on track
BY KIM WEIDMAN
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It’s a sad day in many young women’s lives when they look at their wallets, look at their bank statements, and then look at a Newbury Street salon’s price list and wonder, "Is $50 for a pedicure really worth it?" Consider, as many money-smart Hub-area hotties have in these times of economic woe, scaling back your expenditures to cut out the non-necessities, like your daily $5 smoothie. But don’t end your indulgences entirely. This fall, products that take do-it-yourself to a whole new level are in — and they’ll keep you in the black. According to Carmen Electra, home hair coloring has never been hotter. Carmen is hawking Maxim magazine’s new line of hair color from Just for Men ($10.99), in cool-sounding shades like Red Rum and Blackjack. The easy instructions guide guys through color application to their tips or to their entire head of hair. The kits can be found at CVS and Walgreens; visit www.maximonline.com/jfm/rebate.html for a rebate. For the ladies, gone are the days when drugstore hair color equals unearthly orange. Try Clairol’s new Herbal Essences Highlights ($12.99), available at CVS and other drugstores. The cool highlighting comb takes the guesswork out of at-home treatments and beats those crazy cap-and-foil combos. For head-to-toe beauty, indulge in at-home foot treatments that rival what you can get at spas. Totally Nutty offers a line of fantastic-smelling treatments for your feet, enriched with exotic-sounding ingredients like shea-nut butter. Try the Shea Butter Heel Cream or Walnut Shell Foot Scrub ($4.99 each), available at Brooks, CVS, Kmart, and Shaws. Burt’s Bees offers earth- and body-friendly products for feet and fingers, like Coconut Foot Creme ($9) and Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme ($4), available at Whole Foods, Shaws, and CVS. And for French manicures that rival those from pricey salons, try Sally Hansen’s French Manicure Kit ($5.99), which includes klutz-proof guides for near-perfect white tips. It’s available in three different shades at Walgreens, CVS, Kmart, and Brooks. For the full-spa experience, stop by Flyrabbit in Allston and pick up one of its exotic Italian bath-foam varieties by Gelbanho Aromatico ($27). The sweet-smelling salt comes in pretty paper-covered tin cans. You may also want to buy a few Votivo candles ($22), which come in great scents like vanilla grapefruit (red currant is Madonna’s favorite). Flyrabbit also carries Burt’s Bees products such as Buttermilk Bath ($3). No one likes to iron, and many feel that big dry-cleaning bills are worthwhile. But — hallelujah! — new wrinkle-releaser sprays are making irons obsolete. Downy Wrinkle Releaser ($3.99), available at most grocery stores, eliminates wrinkles with a spray and a tug. Magic Wrinkle Remover ($2.69), sold at Stop & Shop, produces similar results. Finally, the invention juice stands don’t want you to know about: the smoothie maker. Different from a blender, smoothie makers are specially designed to eliminate chunks of ice, producing blended fruity cocktails. Starting at around $40, these machines will pay for themselves in about eight smoothies. Pick up the Smoothie Plus 600 Smoothie Maker ($49.99), featuring 600 watts of power, at Target. And if you scarf down one too many smoothies, don’t feel you have to head to the gym. Instead, head to City Sports and buy a Gaiam yoga mat ($21.99). Stock your VCR with one of City Sports’ yoga videos, like Journey into Power ($14.99) from yoga guru Baron Baptiste, and you’ll be busting out a Downward-Facing Dog in no time. Best of all, you won’t be busting your bank account. Where to find it: • Brooks, various locations; www.brooks-rx.com. • City Sports, various locations; www.citysports.com. • CVS, various locations, (888) 607-4287; www.cvs.com. • Flyrabbit, 155 Harvard Avenue, Allston, (617) 782-1313. • Kmart, various locations; www.kmart.com. • Shaws, various locations; www.shaws.com. • Target, various locations; www.target.com. • Walgreens, various locations, (800) 289-2273, www.walgreens.com.
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