After a brutally hot summer, I think many of us are actually looking forward to September, even if it means returning to all-night study sessions, boring teachers and all things school related. But whether you’re attending mommy & me classes, moving into the college dorm or taking on the role of the oldest broad in graduate school, luxuriating in some school-friendly spa products will make you feel like an A+ student.
Hopscotch Kids Nail WaterColors
Be the hit of the back-to-school slumber party with Hopscotch’s non-toxic, kid-friendly alternative to solvent-based nail polishes. Perfect for children, tweens and teenagers, these vibrant, water-based nail (water) colors can be purchased online at http://www.hopscotchkids.com and soon to be in retailers across the country.
BareEase & Cream
It might be a little too soon to be gearing up for Spring Break but it’s never too early to take the pain out of a bikini wax. This Ouchless Waxing Prep Kit created by Anesthesiologist, Dr. Edna Ma, M.D. is truly revolutionary. BareEase & Cream is a preparatory kit for use by women undergoing bikini waxing and laser hair removal procedures in the bikini area. Featuring lidocaine (4%) as its active ingredient, (the most safe, widely used topical anesthetic and superior numbing agent), along with natural ingredients including aloe and jojoba, the kit’s specially doctor-formulated cream will not only eradicate the pain but will leave your skin feeling soft, silky and sexy as well. Simply wear the cute, pink, soft, latex disposable panty for a half hour before your appointment and bring on the Brazilian! Visit http://www.bareease.com.
If the Catskills only conjure up images in your head of Dirty Dancing, sleepaway camp, and color war, think again. The Emerson Resort & Spa offers its sophisticated guests a high-end destination spa experience. Just 2 hours from New York City, it’s convenient enough to easily get away for a night or two but far enough away that you can actually feel like you’re escaping the stress of city life.
In desperate need of a girls-only getaway, I road-tripped with my mom and my aunt to Emerson’s expansive property in the Hudson Valley’s Mt. Tremper, New York. Upon arriving, we were greeted by the friendly and helpful staff to our luxurious accommodations in the main ‘adults-only’ house. The suite was cozy (complete with fireplace and balcony) yet contemporary and sleek with the best of modern amenities. The calming neutral color palate was infused with bursts of rich color and fine fabrics. The resort also has a separate lodge perfect for families – and even their pets. With an outdoor pool and dog-run, Emerson provides the perfect accommodations for any type of guest.
We then enjoyed a delicious light lunch in the spa café. With a vegetable garden just out back, it was not surprising that our chicken wraps and salads featured the freshest and most flavorful produce I think I have ever had. Before heading to the spa, my mom, aunt and I took a self-tour of the rest of the main house. We enjoyed perusing the on-site country store where one can find beautiful and unique antiques and farmhouse-type furniture, fine clothing, high-end spa products and for the youngest guests at Emerson, charming toys and games. Emerson also houses the World’s Largest Kaleidescope Museum (tickets to the kaleidescope show are included with your stay).
As a runner, the light at the end of the tunnel after a particularly grueling run or race comes in many forms. For some, it’s knowing that a pint of ice cream awaits. For others, Epson salts soak. For me, it is a luxurious pedicure. In addition to the obvious aesthetic benefits, the therapy behind a really good pedicure can be as rewarding as a full body massage at a fraction of the cost. So this summer, I decided to try a place whose reputation preceded it, the extraordinary Soho Sanctuary. The Spa, Beauty and Fitness facility located on Mercer Street between Spring and Prince only caters to women and will truly give you the royal treatment you so deserve. The spa is a true sanctuary revolving around wellness and has a separate floor, called The Beauty Loft floor, which is reserved for hand, feet, waxing and makeup beautification treatments.
Offering a number of signature pedicure treatments to choose from, I went with the newly added “Refresh Pedicure” for my tired tootsies. The first point of differentiation was the aromatherapy towel wrap soaked in Dr. Hauschka sage. My aesthetician, Mila, explained that this was a much more hygienic option than the typical foot soak given at most salons. The warm towels were heavenly and one of my favorite aspects of the experience. After the wraps, I was treated to an exfoliation organic sugar scrub and massage. To enhance circulation, the massage was followed by an organic Rosemary Toner. My aesthetician then used a pedi-egg-like foot file to remove all the dead skin. When I first saw her use this, I questioned the effectiveness, but my feet were left feeling as soft as a baby’s.
Katy Perry helped propel the already intriguing Minx Manicure to the stratosphere when she said you can get a Minx mani and move your entire house without sustaining a chip! I can’t even get out of a salon without a ding or a dent in my polish, so I was all ready and very excited to try a Minx mani. My only reservation was the fact that they last for several weeks without needing a re-application, while my cuticles require weekly maintenance. That said, Bliss Spa’s offering of a $55 Minx mani was my first choice. When it sunk in my head that it was going to take three-quarters of an hour, I became nervous and uncomfortable…and I’m about to tell you why.
Rather than just espouse the virtues of how cool the shiny, metallic silver and gold foils look on your nails or how they last beyond your typical Essie or OPI lacquer, the procedure of the Minx manicure got me to thinking about the spa process and how it relates to our daily lives and how we all need to get back to the place where an hour-long manicure is a way to de-stress and keep to ourselves. We live stressful lives as women working and playing and mothering in NYC and spa time is a necessary indulgence to escape or to eliminate the stress. Anything that is part of the stress should not be allowed to breach the spa space!
Despite the relaxing yet always hip atmosphere of the salon, I told myself that I had to really be ready to put down my Blackberry and the recent issue of Vogue, and fully submit and commit to the process. It takes nearly an hour – and since most on-the-go manicures take half that time, you have to just let go and let your manicurist do her thing, from start to finish. It can be a painstaking process if you have an overly active lifestyle, but you have to let the stress fall on your nail tech to get it right, as it’s not up to you how quickly and properly she gets get the job done. The decals are like a tape that has to adhere to your nails and be set through a heat lamp, once again, handcuffing you from doing anything else. But think about it, why should you do anything else when you are getting a manicure?
In today’s day and age, it’s safe to say that a bad eyebrow shaping is a thousand times worse than the proverbial bad haircut. Sure, both disasters can be rectified with some patience, as hair, by nature, (usually) grows back eventually. But really, the only choice we have to avoid such hair disasters is to enlist the help of an expert and trust that she won’t have us wearing hats and sunglasses every minute of the day. Such an expert ‘browologist’ is Hibba Kipal, who at the young age of 24, has shared her talent and used her entrepreneurial spirit to open her very own hair removal boutique.
Located in trendy Soho on West Broadway, Hibba NYC is a charming 2nd floor walk-up with colorful décor reminiscent of Hibba’s native India. Hibba grew up being everyone’s favorite go-to threader; and over the last few years, she gained a loyal clientele and a ton of professional experience in some of New York City’s best threading boutiques before opening up her own business. Hibba practices Browology©, a term that she coined herself and is defined as the signature brow sculpting art of creating perfect eyebrows for your face. Hibba currently offers threading, sugaring and waxing and she is planning on expanding her list of services to include spa treatments as well.
Threading is one of the oldest forms of hair removal. A spool of all natural cotton thread is twisted to create a lasso effect, creating a precise shape when pulling hair out from the roots. Sounds painful but you get used to the sensation fairly quickly (and if you can tolerate tweezing or waxing, you’ll be fine). Threading can achieve a more precise eyebrow shape than waxing or tweezing, while also avoiding ingrown hairs and irritation on sensitive facial skin. Hibba NYC’s company motto is ‘Go Green with Threading™’ using only natural cotton thread for threading and offering a choice between two natural waxes for body hair removal, Sugaring and Azulene. Sugaring, which is adopted from ancient Egyptian methods of hair-removal is made from sugar, water, gel and rose oil, and Azulene is an all-natural wax composed of mushroom extracts, chamomile and resins. Both methods are efficient and gentle to your skin.