Men On The Cheap

These four day weekends just don't last long enough if you ask me. And there certainly aren't enough of them in the year. And potentially, I don't make enough of them when they do come around...

I started the weekend with too much beer to aid weight loss and I have only done one session on the home gym. And a friend who came to visit had her bag stolen in the pub. So from those perspectives it was not such a good weekend.

Today things got a little exciting though when I decided out of the blue that I would go for a manicure. Manicures are not a regular occurence for me. I thought it would be nice to go with my sisters before the wedding and I had seen a place that does them for twelve bargain pounds - woo hoo.

So I figured it would be necessary to check the place out first. We don't want to end up at the wedding with jagged nails and polish all over our cuticles - I mean, let's get some perspective here, that would simply be a disaster of epic proportions. I'm not sure I could ever get over uneven nail varnish - which I think you'll agree, in the grand scheme of things is pretty damn important... (Ok, ok, I was just a little lacking in occupation today and figured it would take up half an hour or so).

I got to the road the shop was on and started wandering down it slightly absent-mindedly, wondering why one of the shops had piled a load of comfortable looking black leather chairs outside. Junk shop, I concluded. It wasn't until after I had walked passed that I registered the the sign above the shop actually said "Vegas Nails" (come on - what sort of classiness did you expect for £12 in London?).

Disaster. It has closed down. Or, not disaster, they might just be refurbishing it...

I decided there was nothing else for it than to go hunting for another nail salon of comparable price at a comparable distance from home. My search started off pretty poor, until I came across "HQ The Beauty" (yes, that way around). There were a couple of ladies having their nails done in there, so the nail beautifier gave me a "Gift Voucher", which, when opened, is actually thier price list. Which is where things started getting a little fruity.

An Express Manicure will set you back £15, a Deluxe Manicure, £20, whilst a Manicure with French/American Man will set you back £19. Good heavens. For a pound less than a Deluxe Manicure, you get a French or American Man! It seems that something other than nail care is going on here.

Is this really appropriate for my wedding day manicure? And if so, which do I go for? French or American Man? And why is the pedicure only offered with a French Man? Is it because Americans are not as open minded and simply won't take part in any sort of foot exploits?

But really, the big question is - if you get a French/American Man for £19, what do you get for the Deluxe Manicure at £20?