Oh, It’s Tuesday: Are You Still Getting Your Nails Done?
I found this NYT article on how manicure salons are faring in the recession really interesting..
Apparently, there are two types of recessionistas in this world: those that either stop or space out their manis because of the recession and those that don’t.
I started getting regular manis after CH proposed, b/c it seemed like the best way to showcase the engagement ring, which blinded into an uncharecteristic fit of girliness for the first few months. Then I got acrylics, because I kept on chipping my nail polish like two days after I would get them painted and acrylics look better longer. Then I got the acrylics taken off b/c 1) I didn’t have time to get them refilled every two weeks, and 2) it seemed kind of silly to spend money and time I didn’t have on getting them refilled every week.
So nowanddays I paint my own finger and toenails — mostly during the summer — and I save the nail salons for special occasions. For example, I’ll probably be hitting up the one down the hill from our house for mani and an eyebrow wax before I leave for my St. Louis baby shower.
However, I don’t knock women who have insisted on keeping up their biweekly mani-pedi schedule b/c they feel that looking good will help them get through the recession. Mani-pedi are very meditative — even U.S. soldiers think so. And I think we all need our little treats. I still buy new music iTunes every Tuesday, even though, I technically no longer need to keep up with the latest music now that I’m no longer writing about it.
Before I quit my job, Tuesdays used to hold a special thrill for me, and I couldn’t wait to see what surprising things I would find in the iTunes new music sections. So I hold on to that luxury. As far as luxuries go, it’s not exactly cheap (I spend about $100 a month on new music), but it’s not insanely expensive, and I suspect I would get really depressed if I had to do without it.
So three questions: 1) Are you still getting your nails done? and 2) What small luxuries have you held on to throughout the recession? and most importantly, what color do you think I should paint my nails for my baby shower? I’m wearing a black and burnished gold kimono dress and don’t think my usual electric blue will go with it.
Read more about the recession era mani-pedi here.
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flickr.com photo credit: Paula Steele
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