Because You Probably Live in a Shitty Neighborhood

Let's face it. Most poor, hip, twenty-somethings live in neighborhoods that are just on the verge of gentrification. These are neighborhoods which are generally characterized by cute coffee shops, crackheads, trendy, over-priced restaurants and boutiques, public urination, and dive bars frequented by old, eccentric, hardcore alcoholics, and the cynical, PBR-guzzling hipsters who will someday become them--just with more tattoos and bachelor's degrees.

Don't get me wrong, I fucking love neighborhoods like this. They have the all the comforts a fashionable twenty-something chick needs plus the street cred that comes with living in a neighborhood where you're a little afraid to walk around by yourself at night. Besides that, the rent is usually decent, and the apartments are near public transit hubs.

However, it can be legitimately frightening at times to walk around in your neighborhood. I know I've had more than my share of scary run-ins with dudes trying to grab me, steal my shit, or just generally be a fucking menace, and chances are you have too. That's why I recommend carrying mace with you at all times. 

Seriously. I know that pepper spray is useless in some situations, but I can think of plenty where it can help. 
I used to have a mace keychain that looked something like this:

Kind of intimidating, right? Well, that can be good thing when you're pulling it out to scare some attacker, but I got some weird looks when I would use my keychain to check-in at the yoga studio.

Anyway, I started to wonder if there's some kind of pepper spray that's a little more fashion friendly, and--lo and behold--there is!:

Yep, that's right. Pepper spray disguised as lipstick!
And if you're not the lipstick girlie girl type, there's this:

The lipstick is $9.99 and the pen is $6.99 at http://www.peppersprayplus.com/index.html. A good investment, if you ask me. I think I know what I am asking the bf to get me for V-day!

What I really like about these, aside from the fact that they are fashionable, is that there is the possibility of a badass surprise factor when using these on an attacker. You pull out your pepper spray lipstick or pen. Those fuckers aren't scared.  They're like "Fuck this bitch. She ain't gonna do shit with that pen."  Then, BAM! You just fucked up their face, and now you're running away to safety.

Anyway, I think that being poor and stylish isn't always just about cute outfits on a budget. It's about the other stuff too: keeping yourself safe and healthy, exercising, being smart about your (meager) finances, and being fabulous. That said, I am planning to have posts about all that stuff, but don't worry. I promise the next one will include shoes and cute outfits :)

<3-hallee