Beat the recession beautifully

It’s suddenly cool to economise, to ask for tap water not bottled, to frequent jumble sales not designer sales, to host cocktail-come-clothes-swapping parties with your pals and even to re-dye your faded black denim rather than splash out on a yet another pair of Sass & Bide skinnies.

Thriftiness equals virtue, and virtue is now cool. However there are some things women just won’t compromise on, especially in a city like NY where a little thing like a global recession won’t interfere with a gal’s grooming regime.

The recessionista may now be the new face of fashion consumption, making last year’s fashionista look vulgar and un-cool, but when it comes to beauty, women are definitely still buying. For example, the latest figures released by beauty giant L’Oreal show cosmetic sales still growing at a rate of 2.1%, and in Manhattan, beauty salons are gyms are still bustling with trade (there’s still queues out of the door in many nail bars) as super-groomed New York women are defiantly keeping up appearances.

Incredibly, luxury spas are still opening in Manhattan too. The newly opened Caudalie at the Plaza cost a hefty $6m, while Guerlain’s spa at the Waldorf-Astoria cost an astonishing $23m. The Peninsula Hotel too is revamping it’s three story ESPA spa to open in December 2008 - it evident there’s still a consumer who’s prepared to splash out $400 on a single treatment.

It’s not that the downturn isn’t affecting women in New York – it’s just how they choose to spend their money that’s changing. In a city where grooming is everything, this is one area the recessionista won’t budge on.

Yet something has to give. So just what are New York beauty addicts prepared to give up in order to keep up their mani-pedi-wax-highlights-blow-dry culture? And how important is it to them?

Danielle Russo-Slugh, 39, has used the downturn to her advantage as a way to get into the beauty business. A former Wall Street trader, she now works for Arbonne, a high-end version of Avon that can be found in the chic homes and salons of Tribecca. ‘It was just no longer profitable to work on the floor of the exchange, but beauty, especially in New York, is a lucrative business’ explains Danielle. ‘In this city people have to look good regardless of their bank account and this is one hundred percent important in the culture of New York City.’ Why? ‘It’s such a competitive environment, you have to look the part to compete to get a job and keep it too.’

So what is Danielle cutting back on to maintain her polished appearance? ‘I am wearing Prada boots from two years ago, and I didn’t buy a new pair this year, so I’m sacrificing new clothes, jewellery and handbags to make sure I have good skin and a haircut,’ Danielle says. ‘I need to make sure I don’t let myself go by the wayside, especially working in the industry.’

Even New York’s students aren’t prepared to cut back on beauty - in some cases even if it means they sacrifice their nutrition. ‘I have been cutting back a healthier breakfast and switching it for toast to save (money) to keep up my appearances,’ says Brit born Melanie Harvey, a textiles curator and student. ‘There is no place on earth like New York without any forgiveness for a lack of grooming. And although beauty treatments here are cheaper, it also means that they are expected.’
Perhaps British girls should take a leaf out of the New Yorkers beauty book and recognise that in tough times it may still pay to still look good. Rifle through old jumble if you will, just make sure you’re doing it with perfectly manicured nails.