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Minimal Maintenance
The monthly
cost of staying well-groomed can total more than your apartment's
rent. Here's how to get pampered at a pauper's price.
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painted by the pros at M.A.C. (See below.)
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Multi-Service
New York International
Beauty School
Want a new look? Strapped for cash? Feeling bold?
Try a makeover from a student in training. Services range from hair
coloring and cutting to facials, and the prices — $5 to $18
—are unbeatable. No appointment necessary.
• 500 Eighth Ave., 8th Floor, between 35th and 36th Sts.;
212-868-7171; nyibs.com
Jade Beauty and Wellness
Spa
You can get it all done —waxing, facials, massages,
tinting, manicures, pedicures, and acupuncture — at this Upper
West Side spa that stays open until 10 p.m. on weekdays. (Late manicures
are unheard of on the UWS.) Prices are competitive for individual
services: $10 for a manicure or eyebrow wax. But, the packages are
the best deals. For $98, you can get a 20-minute massage, facial, manicure,
and pedicure.
• 2493 Broadway, between 92nd and 93rd Sts.; 212-362-5763
Massage
Graceful
Services
No doubt about it—as much as we could all use frequent massaging,
paying over $100 for each rubdown can be anxiety-producing in itself.
At Graceful Services, there may be no impressive lounge, but the
strong Qi Gong massage goes straight to the muscle spasm. Flowing
white curtains separate you from the next client, and the rooms
are spanking clean. For $60, you’ll enjoy your hour and feel stress-free
for at least a day or two.
• 1097 Second Ave., near 57th St.; 212-593-9904; gracefulservices.com
Sal Anthony's Movement Salon
Sal Anthony's empire near Union Square includes, somewhat inexplicably,
this fitness studio (two studios, actually) in a landmarked building.
Here you can get a $55 one-hour rubdown ($85 for 90 minutes) from
therapists versed in Swedish, Shiatsu, and Thai massage.
• 190 Third Ave., at 17th St.; 212-420-7242; movementsalon.com
Tui-Na
If you can't get naked in front of other people, don't bother with
Tui-Na. If, however, you can deal with lying nude in a darkened
basement room with an equally nude stranger (of either gender) on
the table next to you, you'll get a true massage bargain here —
once the energetic Tui-Na masseuses start working on your muscles,
you'll lose any anxiety about where you are, anyway. And at $40
an hour, it's pretty easy to let go.
• 222 Lafayette St., between Spring and Kenmare Sts.; 212-941-6038
Waxing
Elite Day Spa
The prices are cheap, but the highly skilled and efficient
technicians at this fashion district salon will make you feel like
you've paid a lot more. Lip, $6; eyebrow, $15; bikini, $13-$19;
brazilian, $25; full leg, $31; arm, $24.
• 24 W. 39th St., between Fifth and Sixth Aves.; 212-730-2100
Eurpoean
Nails by Lucy
This small east side spot is known among the Birkenstock-wearing
and the Birkin-bag-carrying alike for fabulous, thorough waxes.
Eyebrow, $7; half-leg, $17; full leg with bikini, $36; bikini, $15
to $26; brazilian, $45; underarm, $10; arm, $20.
• 223 E. 74th St. and 214 E. 82nd St., between 2nd and 3rd
Aves.; 212-772-0720
Randee
Elaine
The menu of services here lists twenty body areas that Randee
Elaine will wax (other areas are negotiable), with prices ranging
from $7 for chin or eyebrow to $30 for full leg with bikini. No
body-hair issue is too embarrassing to be discussed and dealt with,
which makes this place exceedingly popular with men.
• 180 Seventh Ave. South, between Perry and W. 11th Sts.;
212-229-0399; randeeelainesalon.com
Manicure & Pedicure
Bloomie
Nails
The faithful flock to Bloomie Nails for relaxing pedicures
in heated, pulsating massage chairs and mini-screens at the drying
stations playing VH1. Considering that the manicure-pedicure is
$35 ($3 extra for razor-scraping of your soles), it's no wonder
the places are often packed.
• 132 Seventh Ave. at 18th St., 212-366-4545; 170
W. 23rd St at Seventh Ave.., 212-741-0105; 294 Eighth Ave. at 25th
St., 646-638-2727; 120 Second Ave. between 7th and 8th Sts., 212-266-6749;
219 Eighth Ave. at 21st St., 212-366-6199
Jeniette
It might be worth the $21.00 cost of a pedicure at Jeniette
just to hang out in one of their extremely comfy chairs for a half-hour.
Considered the best pedicure bargain in town by many of the city's
snazzier toes, Jeniette has a famously friendly staff, a good, relaxing
foot massage, and a comprehensive polish selection.
• 58 E. 13th St., between University and Broadway; 212-529-1616;
jeniette.com
SoHo
Nail
A favorite of fashionistas, SoHo Nail boasts possibly the
least expensive ($23) quality manicure-pedicure in town. But you'll
pay in other ways, namely the time spent air-drying afterward, as
this joint owns no drying machines. Ask for Lucy or the owner, Susan
Kang. They're favorites of SoHo Nail regulars.
• 458 W. Broadway, 3rd Floor, between Houston and Prince
Sts.; 212-475-6368
Make-up
M.A.C.
Faced with over 140 lipsticks, 120 eye shadows, and addictive odds
and ends like Studio Fix powder, you may drown in this sea of colorful,
stageworthy makeup. Fortunately, the professionally trained M.A.C.
artists can rescue you. In addition to free makeovers, the store
offers makeup lessons ($90 for a 90-minute session; includes complimentary
color chart and mascara, or pay $40 for a 60-minute application
service) in which the pros do half your face and you do the other
half. Watch for their big in-store events.
• Multiple locations; maccosmetics.com
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