Recession-ista: “ree-se-shun-ee-sta”, noun, beauty diva who can sniff out affordable luxury! Math skills and elevated aesthetic acuity required.

Okay, I admit I love luxury products, yet I can’t always justify the price tag. I confess that a pit stop into my neighborhood chain drugstore for some cheap lipgloss when I’m having a bad day often does the trick! From a young age, I was programmed by economical parents to be a “budget babe.” So I have had to cleverly finding ways to get my beauty fix for less (thus my job in the beauty business…how smart am I?!) My Dad used to say, “champagne taste, beer budget!” He would shake his head in disbelief when, as a teenager, I would come home giddy from the mall to tell him all about how much money I had saved. He’d say “you can’t save money when you’re spending it.” Uggh total shopping buzz kill! He obviously did not understand the restorative powers of makeup, eye cream and shoes. Or recognize my math skills.

Thankfully, my income does allow a little more champagne these days. But with the economy so unflattering, it’s hard not to feel a need to shop smarter. So I have officially become a Recession-ista! ‘Luxury and value’ is not an oxymoron! First of all, it’s all about price per use. Premium products tend to be concentrated, so they last longer than cheaper products, because you get more uses per jar, tube, bottle. Second, prestige skin care products tend to have better ingredients and more extensive research and development behind every formulation. Bottom line, spend a little more upfront and get better value, such as these faves on my….

Recession-ista hot list:

1.Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask– 5 minute facial for glowing skin! you get 4 to 6 months of uses! That means about $1 per use… for a spa quality facial treatment that delivers instant and long term skin that says WOW.

2.Steep Clean Professional Strength Mask – this is so good at de-clogging pores, brightening and smoothing skin, it is used in bliss spa facials! 15 minutes once per week for a more refined skin? Sign me up at about $1 per use… and radiant results!

3.Glamour Gloves – soft, smooth, supple hands, about 50 uses for $48 equals less than $1 per use, a year’s worth of treatments. Your hands are age tattle tellers… these beauty treatment gloves are a small investment to maintain beautiful hands!

See? You can splurge and save at exactly the same time! Grab a mini calculator and let’s go shopping!