The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Cheap Holiday Gifts: DIY Body Scrub

One way to save money on gifts this holiday season is to get crafty and make them yourself. In the December 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living, the Queen of Crafty has some tantalizing recipes for homemade bath and body treatments. I'm thinking of whipping up a batch of body scrub, which uses only four ingredients. The base can be made from either Epsom salts or sugar that is then colored with a touch of food coloring and scented with your favorite essential oils. Keep reading for the complete how-to.

Win Cool Stuff: Pure Cashmere Shawl

We have a winner! Congratulations to... #218 Arthi, who writes "I come from India and have lived in the States on the east coast for the last 15 years. I have a lovely collection of shawls from India that I use all the time during winters - best way to keep warm. The only color missing from my collection is green :)"

Special thanks to our winner, the generous folks at Pashmina International, and to all 231 people who entered! More great giveaways to come...



Please note: This contest has ended.

I recently did a post on Pashmina International, a great online source for genuine pashmina shawls at affordable prices, and now the company has generously offered to award this beautiful CASHMERE SHAWL (shown above) to one lucky Budget Babe reader! This 100% pure cashmere blend shawl was manufactured on the slopes of the Himalaya in Nepal, from the softest underhairs of the Capra Hircus goat. It's amazingly soft, warm, and can be worn for formal or casual occasions. To enter, check out PashminaInternational.com, then tell us how you stay warm and stylish during the cold winter months in the comment section below.

Can't wait? Shop now and save 25% off your order. Enter promocode BUDGETBABE at checkout. (Valid until Jan. 31, 2009)

Be sure to use a valid email address and include info(at)thebudgetbabe.com in your address book so we can contact you if you're the winner. Comments must be posted by 12 noon ET on Wednesday December 3 to be eligible to win. One lucky winner will be chosen at random, and will be announced on Thursday December 4.

Featured above is the Woodland Green cashmere shawl ($76.50). Special thanks to Leon for making this giveaway possible. Good luck everyone!

Sarah Jessica Parker Seeks New Home for Bitten




With the demise of Steve & Barry's as we know it, Sarah Jessica Parker is reportedly looking for a new retail partner to house Bitten, her bargain fashion line. (via The Cut) If I may offer a few suggestions to Mrs. Parker, ehem, I think someplace like Kohl's would be a good fit for Bitten. Kohl's could definitely use one more draw in addition to the Simply Vera by Vera Wang collection, which seems to be doing fairly well. Another potential candidate would have to be Wal-Mart, and I say that only after witnessing the swell job they've done for Norma Kamali. JCPenney's got Charlotte Ronson coming in the spring, so that's another good candidate, but then I'd have to drive out of my way to shop at the janky mall where my nearest Penney's is located. Sadly, I don't see Target or H&M as realistic options judging by the nature of their current designer collaborations.

Where do you think Bitten should make its new home?