Sometimes resistance IS futile. Some days, especially hot, sultry July days, I just don’t feel like resisting. You can’t fight the man all the time, with all of your might. At times like these, it’s regroup and rejuvenate—or abandon all hope. Which sounds like the better choice to you?

Some of you are out there saying I don’t have the time, the money or the energy for full on resistance recovery. I get it. Believe me, I do. There are alternatives…

Do you know about the ‘Lipstick Effect?’ During recessions (both national and personal), dating all the way back to the Great Depression, women buy more beauty products during economic downturns. This is real! Of course, what is one little lipstick going to do in the rejuvenation department? That’s where I take it one step further.

When my resistance is facing an economic downturn, there is nothing more transformative than a good pedicure (even if you have ugly feet!). I feel gorgeous from the feet up. Nail polish makers know this. They come up with nail polish names like an Italian Affair (currently featured on my toes), Me, Myselfie & I and, my personal favorite, Big Apple Red.

In NYC, pedicures are cheap. Too cheap it turns out. Investigative journalists discovered that some of the women working in nail salons are little more than slaves.  New York State law changed that in response to the Pulitzer Prize nominated journalism—and it’s still a bargain.

The next time you go for a transformative pedicure, make sure you give your pedicurist a good tip—in cash. Spreading good karma always pays.