LAZY-GIRL BEAUTY, NEW YORK STYLE

I think I could happily live in New York.

I’m not talking about the seemingly infinite shopping opportunities, nor am I referring to the size of the olive and cheese section of Wholefoods.

No, I’m talking about the fact that should I ever be of means to live in the city that never sleeps, I would happily exchange my cleaning budget for that of a blowout*, massage or manicure.

See, I’m inherently a lazy girl when it comes to my beauty regime.

I very much want the end result to appear like I am anything but lazy but I’m rarely willing to put in the time and effort needed to achieve such an illusion.

So, on my recent – and first – trip to New York, I set myself a little bit of a mission. A challenge, if you like.

It was simple really: look fabulous every day (even on the jetlagged ones) and outsource at any given opportunity to achieve such fabulousness.

Step 1: Research

Before leaving home, fire up your computer. Google is your friend. As is Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP city app. I studied that app so much I almost signed up for yoga and started eating only macrobiotic food. Almost.

Step 2: Book

Do not wait until you have landed in New York to make essential arrangements. This will allow you to hit the ground – and the shops – running. Many sites allow you to book online. Some even have apps. Most will ask for your credit card details to secure a booking.

Step 3: Go hard

America is known as the land of opportunity and from my observations that means more for cheap beauty opportunities – even the prices at high-end salons are a fraction of what we pay in Australia. A little budgeting tip though (pun intended) … gratuities of 10-20% are expected on top of the advertised price. Oh, and, unlike GST here where it’s built into the advertised price, tax will also be added on top when you go to pay. Sneaky.

So, what to book?

1. Blowouts. I successfully set a lazy-girl mid-summer record. I did not wash my own hair for 10 days. Before you get all *ewwww* about that, let me clarify: I booked into the dry bar at Parker Meridian for three blowouts during that time. Booking an appointment is as easy as downloading the app. Enter in the date, time and location you’d like and rock up to be washed, dried and ironed like a Manhattan princess in just 45 minutes. For $40, plus taxes and tip.

2. Jetlag massage. It’s a bugger of a flight from Australia – a plane change and airport delay in LA does not help. Hit the ground running by booking one of these for the day or evening of your arrival. The Dorit Baxter Day Spa is midtown – just down the street from the Parker Meridian. It’s not flash and three levels up.

I got the impression it’s somewhere where the locals know to go for treatments by skilled therapists. A skilled therapist was what I got. My tired and inflamed old bod’ was given some much needed TLC after travelling 30 hours and I walked out of there with the energy required for a long, boozy lunch at Balthazar. Hardly Jetlag Recovery 101 I know but that’s how I roll in NYC. Cost: $89 plus taxes and tip.