Beauty Deal of the Day

Glycolic peels do wonders for your complexion; the glycolic acid sloughs off old skin and encourages the growth of new cells. Trouble is, go to a medi-spa or dermatologist and you'll pay $100, minimum, for a glycolic peel ... not exactly cheap. Which is why I was thrilled to recently get the chance to try out Boots' new DIY glycolic peel kit, which costs just $25 (and is good for several uses). It contains about a third of the acid that you'd receive from a medical peel in a doctor's office, but certainly enough to be effective--my skin certainly looked glowier after using it. Bonus: the lower acid content means it stings less (read: barely at all) than an Rx peel.

Lashalicious

Those Brits know how to do it, don't they? I tried Boots No7 Maximum Volume Mascara this weekend. (For the uninitiated, Boots is a super-popular UK health and beauty retailer who makes many of their own products, some of which they're now offering in the States at Target). Swoon! I'm always looking to make my lashes look lush, and this mascara is as good, if not better, as one of my other favorites--Chanel's Inimitable--but is less than a third of the price. My eyelashes looked longer and thicker without appearing clumpy. I'm checking out some other of Boots' products later this week; rumor has it they have a DIY glycolic peel. Stay tuned ...

Beauty and Your Bottom Dollarhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The national gas average just topped $4 a gallon--yikes! One more sign of a rotten economy. Personally, I've been stretching my dollar by spending less (particularly on take-out meals and clothing; I've also been leaving my car parked and taking public transport) and searching for sales on groceries and household goods. The one area that I haven't cut back, however, is skin and haircare products. To me, it's worth a few extra dollars to have a youthful complexion and hair that's full and shiny. Apparently I'm not alone: I took an informal survey among my girlfriends, who report that they're still going to the salon and stocking up on face cream and lipstick the way they used to. Then again, they're a savvy group of women who know that often the $40 wrinkle cream is just as good--if not better--than the $100 version. How has this economy affected your beauty spending habits?