Get Luxe for Less: 5 Beauty Products Under $15.

Are budget cuts cutting into your beauty routine? Tough times may mean skipping the spa and saying so long to salons, but you can still stay pretty and pampered with smart buys and at-home treatments. Lasting, luminous hair color, a clear complexion, glowing skin and the perfect pedicure are at your fingertips with a little help from the local drugstore, and all are under $15.

Look for these luxe-for-less alternatives to your favorite indulgences.

Stretch your salon visit:

• With John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze, a color-illuminating formula that recreates the stunning results of an in-salon glazing treatment while preserving the life of your salon color. The glaze delivers a gorgeous glossy finish and a hint of color for radiant, eye-catching shine.
• For blonde addicts who can’t give up their highlights, John Frieda has two breakthrough collections that optimize blonde tones—new Sheer Blonde Color Renew Tone-Restoring Shampoo and Conditioner to correct brassy tones and restore blonde color and Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner to actually lighten hair with every use. Keep your blonde looking fresh until your next salon visit with Color Renew, or play stylist at home with Go Blonder—either way, you can push back your appointment a few more weeks.

Trade in your tan:

• For a healthy glow from Jergens Natural Glow FOAMING Daily Moisturizer, an ultra quick-dry formula that leaves skin luminous. When a beach vacation is out of reach and spray tans are a splurge, this lightweight, fuss free is the perfect way to get glowing and get out the door in an instant. The fast drying formula lets you get dressed immediately after you apply, making Natural Glow FOAMING Daily Moisturizer a fuss-free part of your beauty routine.

Forego your pricey facial:

• Get the same results at home with Biore Even Smoother Microderm Exfoliator. The ultra-fine scrub delivers instantly softer, brighter skin with more even tone and texture via superfine alumina crystals like those used in professional micro-dermabrasion. Infused with skin conditioning shea butter and calming white tea extract, the spa-style formula helps renew and restore skin health, clarity and softness. Why shell out for a facial when you can perfect and pamper your skin at home?

Don't pony up for pedicures:

• Perfect your feet at home with help from Curél Targeted Therapy Fast Absorbing Foot Cream. The intensive moisturizer delivers the same ultra smooth, silky soft finish as a paraffin pedicure—just massage into feet before bed, cover with cellophane, and slip into socks before you slip into bed for majorly moisturized feet come morning. Coconut Milk softens and smoothes, while Urea removes thickened, calloused skin, leaving feet looking pedicure-perfect.

Not only are these beauty goodies all under $15, they can simply be picked up at your local drugstore or mass merchandiser.

Crest’s Get Bright Challenge: Week 1.

I am very excited to be participating in a little challenge with Crest, trying out their brand new whitening strips, Crest White Strips Advanced Seal. Over the next four weeks, I will be trying out these innovative new White Strips. I will post a new image of my teeth each Monday and let you know how I feel using them and how I feel they are working.

What am I looking forward to out of this challenge? Yes, whiter teeth. But whiter teeth through a simple process. Not messy. Not too overwhelming or time consuming. Something that works easily so that I stick with the program.

A bit about Advanced Seal:

The groundbreaking adhesive formulation temporarily molds the strip to teeth, allowing you to easily talk and even drink water for convenient whitening anywhere, anytime.

The secure fit comes off clean after whitening, leaving no mess behind.

Whether you’re on-the-go, talking on the phone or drinking water, new Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal allows you to go about your day without interruption, all while achieving your most beautiful, whiter smile.

These white strips sound like they are right up my alley and up to my challenge. That is why I decided to take this challenge along with some other bloggers.

Here is a snapshot of my teeth before starting this whitening system. (At this point I am asking myself once again why I never had braces and why I don't just bite the bullet and get myself some Invisalign!)

Be sure to check back each Monday through the end of the month to check my progress and thoughts on using this Crest's revolutionary new whitening system.