If you did a lot of cooking over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm sure you did a lot of dishes. And if you did a lot of dishes, I'm sure your hands are feeling the effects. Even if you weren't scrubbing away, the cooler months often produce dry hands that need some extra TLC. So, if you're looking for an easy do-it-yourself treatment, I learned this great combo while holiday shopping at an Aveda store last year.

In your hands, mix the following, work in for an invigorating massage, and rinse away: about a quarter-sized amount of Hand Relief ($19), a scoop of Soothing Aqua Therapy ($28.50) bath salts, and a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Currently, I'm really digging Patchouli Oil ($13). Psst — you can use drugstore ingredients, too. The results are still luxurious. Aaah.

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Messy, textured updos are all the rage these days, and Molly Sims was in on it at the recent CNN Heroes ceremony. Lorenzo Caldaron, a stylist with Warren-Tricomi Los Angeles, created this beautiful, easy look. The good news for you: he says that this look's quite easy, especially for a reader who's not trained in hair. "Make it look fun and flirty, softly pulled back and messy or use less texture for a more smooth, classic look," he said. "I's very versatile and up to you. If you think about it too technically and overwork it, it's going to go to a whole different place and look too done."

Kick off this look with clean, shampooed hair and get his step-by-step instructions when you read more

Here's a dose of recession realism: There are things we need that we'll buy ourselves and there are things we want that we won't. When times get tight, the things we need kinda become the things we want. So, for the latest installment of our Holiday Gift Guide let's treat our sporty pal whose biggest splurge is that gym membership.

Next time you're at her house, check out what products she uses (not in a creepy way). Then, pick a pretty beauty bag (this Kate Spade splurge is on sale for $52) for her gym locker and stock with her fave drugstore deodorant, travel toothbrush and paste, shower cap, and possibly some of her fave makeup. She may not treat herself to a spare set of her essentials, but you can.

Pick one special item, like two- or three-in-one products as a treat, and mix it up with elastics and headbands to keep her hair out of her face. After all, it truly is the thought that counts, right? Right.

I may be pinching pennies 'til my next island getaway, but this Softsoap Body Butter Coconut Scrub let me fly away there by simply closing my eyes. I loved the tropical aroma straight from the container, as I put it on, and after I toweled dry! I tested it both as a body scrub and as an alternate shave lather – it was easy to use just one product to clean my skin, and then shave it off.

Rich with jojoba extract, this helps retain natural moisture but doesn't really add any if you've got oily skin – and you'll need to properly moisturize afterwards if your skin is already on the dry side. My fave part: the little nubbies of crushed coconut providing an exfoliating massage gentle enough to not irritate with daily use and at around $4 (for 18 ounces), it's gentle on your wallet, too.