Budget Beauty

Splurge

Radiance Facial * Stillwater Spa
Cost: $180
What you get: Hand and feet treatments, massage synced with soothing music, obligatory pore squeezing, a program of anti-
aging potions and masks and a goodie bag.
Why it’s splurge-worthy: Arrive early and stay late at the almost anachronistically posh, marble-encrusted oasis for a taste of how the upper echelon of society lives. Take a sauna, swim in the bayside saltwater pool, cuddle in your huge white robe and drink rooibos tea on either side of your massage-table eighty-minute main event, which is so blissfully transporting, your car may drive itself home.
Hyatt Regency Newport, 1 Goat Island, 851-3225,
newport.hyatt.com

Signature Stress Melter Ritual * Elizabeth Arden
Red Door Spa
Cost: $230
What you get: An all-over olive oil salt scrub to slough off dead skin, followed by a hot shower, aromatherapy oil wrap and scalp massage. Once you’re totally tranquil, it’s finally time for a nearly hour-long relaxation massage.
Why it’s splurge-worthy: You’ll feel sedated by the end of this nearly two-hour-long four-in-one. Plus, you’ll feel like a queen in the hands of the spa’s super attentive staff. Make the most of the experience by arriving early to nosh on biscotti and tea in the Zen-inspired relaxation room.
Providence Biltmore Hotel, 11 Dorrance Street, Providence, 490-9741, providencebiltmore.com

Milk and Honey Manicure * Spa Terre
Cost: $50
What you get: Twenty-five minutes of bliss. Following an expert nail shaping, your hands are massaged with a honey and coconut sugar scrub, slathered in warm honey and coconut milk and wrapped in toasty mitts. Nails get a coat of organic,
vegan polish.
Why it’s splurge-worthy: This glimpse of the good life feels like a bargain for all the extras that come along with it. You’ll enjoy full spa privileges (step into a downy robe and massage sandals and linger with a cocktail by the indoor pool) and a manicure as transcendent as a head-to-toe treatment. The Hotel Viking, One Bellevue Avenue, Newport, 848-4848, hotelviking.com

Beyond Belief Pedicure * Alayne White Spa
Cost: $125
What you get: A dozen steps (and two hours’ worth) of bliss that includes paraffin for the hands and feet, a head, shoulder, arm and leg massage, a hydrating foot mask, tiny hot stones between the toes and a makeup app. 
Why it’s splurge-worthy: The chair alone. (Whoever thought of a “pedicure bed” is a genius.) If you’re escorted into a private room and asked to slip into a robe for a pedicure, it’s a sign good things are in store. Foot treatment meets full body work-up in this pedicure that goes well beyond a paint job.
259 Thames Street, Bristol, 254-1772; 149 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence, 272-1772, alaynewhite.com
 
Egyptian Gold Body Treatment * Tranquil Waters Spa, Salon and Café
Cost: $115
What you get: An exfoliating sugar scrub, followed by a hydrating mud wrap. After a rinse in the multi-head shower, your entire body is layered in moisturizers, ending with a sprinkling of luminescent gold dust.
Why it’s splurge-worthy: It’s all about the gold. Twenty-four karats to be exact,  in the form of Jane Iredale mineral makeup. The rest of the products used are equally top-notch, including exfoliant made in California and European moisturizers. You’ll walk out literally glowing, making this the ideal treatment to get before a special night out. 1479 Fall River Avenue, Route
6, Seekonk, Mass., 508-336-6676, tranquil
watersspacafe.com

Steal

A Fresh Start Facial * Facing Thayer
Cost: $70
What you get: Skin analysis, steam and cleanse of the face, neck and shoulders, brief massage, hydrating mask and lotion galore, plus $35 in goodies of your choice.
Why it’s a steal: The facial leaves skin dewy enough that you’d be pleased even if you didn’t get to put half the treatment price toward products. But yippee! It’s shopping time. Your beautician can recommend Dermalogica face creams and chemical-free
sun blocks based on your skin type; there are also neat self-heating eyelash curlers, lip glosses with tiny lights and a mirror for night-time application, and countless other frivolous fancies.
297 Thayer Street, Providence, 331-4777, facingthayer.com

Massage * Eneida Vann Salon, Spa, Cosmetique
Cost: $70
What you get:  A one-hour customized massage.
Why it’s a steal: Typically deep tissue, prenatal, and sports
massages are more expensive than standard relaxation massages, but they’re each offered here for just $70. Your therapist will even integrate aspects of two or three different types, say deep tissue for a knotty upper back and Swedish everywhere else, into a single session. Eneida Vann is more of a salon than spa, so you won’t get the full-service accoutrements (like an eye pillow, robe and sandals), but, really, when you’re on the table, who’s even going to notice?
3595 Mendon Road, Cumberland, 658-1738, evsalonspa.com
 

Spa Manicure * Paul Mitchell the School
Cost: $15
What you get: This one-hour treatment begins with careful nail shaping, followed by a hand massage with exfoliating scrub and a second massage using an activator cream and moisturizer. After a hot towel wrap, nails are buffed and polished. An instructor double-checks the end result.
Why it’s a steal: As an alternative to the more tranquil day spa atmosphere, the busy school’s high-energy vibe is a fun pick-me-up. You’ll leave with soft, pretty hands, perky spirits and perhaps a fleeting thought of ditching your desk job to become a cosmetologist.
379 Atwood Avenue, Cranston, 946-9920, pmtsrhodeisland.com

Spa Pedicure * Christiaan Salon and Day Spa
Cost: $50
What you get: Ensconced in your own
alcove (complete with retractable curtain), your heel-worn goods are soaked, scrubbed and moisturized.
Why it’s a steal: Although the atmosphere is more cozy than slick, there’s nothing skimpy about this $50 treatment, including the time allotted: a full hour fifteen, which can be used to catch up on magazine gossip, or zzzs if you so choose. Plus, Christiaan’s website offers a $10 off coupon for first-time visitors, and you’ll receive  more coupons when you check out, including 25 percent off their deluxe, forty-five-minute, $20 manicure.
4 Benefit Street, Providence, 521-5050, christiaansalon.com

Body Soothing Session * Glow Face and Body Spa
Cost: $55
What you get: Owner and sole esthetician Cristin Almeida works a mixture of essential oils and body creams over your whole body. Starting with the back, no patch of skin is left untouched (she even hits every single toe and finger).
Why it’s a steal: The look of this small spa is way more high end than the prices, and this treatment follows suit. More like a combination massage and ultra-moisturizing body treatment, with Almeida’s fingers working tiny, entrancing circles over every inch, you’ll leave feeling totally blissed out for barely more than half a Benjamin, plus tip.
585 Main Street, Warren, 245-0978, glowri.com