NEW YORK?The common denominator among People Who Have Left Manila is their complaint at skyrocketing prices of nail salon services abroad. The figures are quadruple?if not more?of prices for the most luxurious hand and foot spa treatments in Manila.

After months of obligatory deprivation of said services due to a very tight budget, I decided to give in to a much-needed treat: a Spoiled Diva Pedicure at Dashing Diva on the East Side.

I still have blissful memories of a previous visit at the Beauty Bar Rockwell branch, so I eagerly anticipated this precious ped stop (and tried my best to silence the non-stop ka-ching going on in my head). The New York version of the Spoiled Diva had elements of its domestic counterpart, including the sterile packet of tools, the warm water foot bath infused with essential oils, scrub and gentle microdermabrasion treatment (with a single-use disposable foam attachment), basic pedicure and cleaning, and ten-minute foot and leg massage.

To cap this therapeutic session, I chose two coats of a lovely blue-based apple red for my rejuvenated tips.

Speaking of pretty nail lacquer shades, I must have been truly out of the loop in the last seven months that an almost seismic shift in the trendy color category barely registered a blip in my NYC newbie radar?until Niña Montelibano (former Beauty Bar marketing manager, now also a Manhattan transplant) jolted me back to my senses.

Apparently, the cosmetics world has been abuzz over Chanel?s Blue Satin, the new ?It? lacquer among the beauty-savvy. The much-talked-about, subtly frosted, blue-black nail varnish from the Spring 2008 collection (overtaking last year?s Black Satin) is currently scarce in New York and is continuing to fetch steep prices on eBay.

To add a trendier twist to this frenzy, a Chanel insider informs me that to get the ?perfect Chanel blue,? one must apply two layers of Blue Satin and finish off with a coat of Blue Azur.

I hear a mad dash for the beauty counters!

Courtesy of Dashing Diva and
www.thisnext.com

Mariel Chua started her career at Seventeen Philippines, where she trained in beauty and fashion journalism for five years. She then moved to Cosmopolitan, where she worked as beauty editor for two years. She was also the contributing beauty editor for Ok! Magazine, and worked with other Summit titles such as Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, and YES Magazine as a freelance writer and makeup artist. Mariel is now based in New York. Read about her adventures in NyMinuteNow.blogspot.com.