Image via Aveeno

This summer, I made figuring out the best way to deal with my leg stubble my personal vendetta. After all, I had in my winter storage a veritable stable of adorable capris and cropped pants and it simply wouldn't do to be all gorilla legs after just a few hours. I own my own professional waxing pot but my skills are limited to the tiny strip above my lip; the last time I attempted to wax my own calves, I accidentally glued the cat to the bathroom floor. It was easier (and safer) to venture to the spa for a leg wax, but then a week later I was back again for a sugaring because the stubble was unstoppable. I also tried Veet and Nair, both of which made my legs super itchy and kind of a "scalded wiener" shade of pink. And even still, I couldn't achieve that silky smooth leg that lasted more than a few hours.

I gave up and resorted to the tried and true shower-and-shave method. Flash-forward two months and I was at a spa getting a massage. As the aesthetician was rolling her thumbs across my back calves, she cleared her throat and said, "I'm sorry, this is so unprofessional, but do you wax your legs?" Bonus! How many legs does an average masseuse touch during the day? Probably a lot. It's kind of like Hugh Hefner telling you that you have nice boobs. After I got past my flattery, I went down the list of my various follicular thwartings and then revealed my current method: Aveeno's Positively Smooth shave gel, a garden-variety Mach III razor that religiously gets a new blade every ten showers, and a post-shower application of The Body Shop's Vitamin E Body Butter. It's not a very satisfying answer, I realize, and she seemed somewhat disappointed too but as she continued her ministrations, I mentally added up how much I'd spent in my experimentation and then felt like Dorothy because the answer was with me all along, and for less than $30 start up costs. But a Drugstore Cowgirl epiphany like that? Priceless.