Shopping in Bethesda

Unlike your special lady's cucumber-melon rain-sprinkle lotion, the Combat-Ready Balm soothes razor burn and the effects of eczema and psoriasis, removes the itchiness from bug bites and scratches, and relieves sunburned, dry, or irritated skin. The balm has even seen combat while serving the dermal needs of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Skincando products, with their no-frills packaging and intense bold labels, not only mean business, they mean war.

A well-placed splash of sparkle from Ice can transform even the dowdiest duds into formal wear while drawing the human eye to any place you want it to go. Draw attention to your slender wrists and away from your third eye with a 925 bangle studded with clear cubic zirconias ($52) or a large stone bracelet ($50). Likewise, you can show off the toned earlobes you worked so hard to achieve at boot camp with some platinum-bonded hoop earrings shining with Austrian crystal ($48). And nothing says "Hey, look, décolletage!" like a five-flower, cubic-zirconia necklace ($52). You can also get a two-tone black onyx pendant ($36) or square and round stackable rings ($32) without breaking your bling budget. The website offers only a sampling of what you'll find in-store, so be ready to browse, just like when you spent two hours at the pet store because you couldn't figure out which puppy took your wallet.

Zelaya Shoes of Bethesda is a footwear palace housed beneath a cheery pink awning. Prices at Zelaya range widely; pick up a pair of Sweet Caroline Yellow flats from Chinese Laundry for $39 or a luxurious pair of Daquelo taupe suede booties from Chie Mihara for $349. Keep your torso firmly attached to your hips with a black suede zipper-detail belt from J.J. Winters for $165.

At ModernRugs.com, you'll find a variety of thoughtfully constructed floor art by contemporary designers such as Calvin Klein, Martha Stewart, and Nani Marquina, and master crafters from around the world. The site's enormous selection of colorful groundsheets offers a respectful covering for even the most shamefully exhibitionistic tile or wood panel. Designer Thomas Paul gives soles something to tread softly upon with the 3’x5’ coral-cream-orange rug ($289), whereas a 2'x3' Soho-style Crinkle CRK-1602 Black Shag ($115) rug tickles toes with soft felted wool tresses that are just the right color for spilling dark-colored liquids or hiding dark chocolate truffles. ModernRugs.com also offers an array of child-themed floor drapes so that you can instill a love of statistics in your squirt’s subconscious by adorning her room with the 2’x3’ Numbers Game rug ($249).

Short of creating physical clouds to hold people aloft, Mattress Warehouse stocks almost every imaginable furnishing to help customers catch a few Z’s. Rows of name-brand mattresses from Sealy, Simmons Beautyrest, Serta, and Tempur-Pedic entice customers to replace their worn pad for new bedding, such as a standard mattress, a fluffy pillowtop unit, or a memory foam piece that conforms to bodies. Beyond mattresses, the warehouse also carries an ample collection of box springs, full bed sets with rails and headboards, and even premium futon mattresses that revitalize foldable couches.

In 1986, Nancy Criswell set up her full-service bead store on the second floor of the historic Olney House in Olney, Maryland. At the time, she had little idea that the niche craft would soon explode in popularity, but after the meteoric growth of beading and the increasing number of local businesses willing to accept shiny baubles as payment, Criswell was able to expand her business to its present location—a 9,000-square-foot showroom in Rockville stuffed with over 18,000 different varieties of beads. There, the walls glisten with corrugated and smooth 14-karat gold spheroids, beads of sterling silver, and plenty of wire, findings, tools, and pliers to string them all together. Regular classes from nationally recognized teachers such as Stephanie Everett and Jessie Stern help students turn their hobby into an art form with instruction in topics ranging from chain mail and bead stitching to wirework.