In praise of the polish change (AKA, pampering for broke girls)

Ladies, even when you’re budgeting, you gotta remember to treat yo’self. If you’re like me, you probably don’t bother painting your nails because you have the dexterity of a 4-year-old, and rarely get manicures because it’s a luxury you can’t afford. Maybe everyone already knew there was a way to get your nails professionally done without having to sit at the salon for an hour and then paying out the ass, especially since the polish will last a week at the most. But I recently discovered a service offered at just about every salon, even though it isn’t always advertised on the service menu.

It’s called a polish change, but it’s really more of a mini-manicure. For $7 or $8, you can get your nails buffed, filed, and painted (or repainted, if you come in with the chipping remnants of your last manicure) and it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes. That’s the price of a designer draft microbrew at most bars—and the buzz from freshly gleaming nails lasts a lot longer. Professionally painted fingernails may not sound transformative, but they are. Think of it as a weekly Saturday afternoon ritual, or an affordable way to get a little gussied up before a special event. We discovered a deal at the Polish Bar (locations in Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill):  you can get a manicure (normally goes for $13) and come back within seven days for a polish change, for a total of $16. If you know any Brooklyn nail salons with similar polish-change deals, let ’em rip.