Gel Manicure – worth it?

This the extra cost for a gel manicure worth it ($30 vs $16)? I think so!

I don’t normally get or do my own manicure in gel form. But I had a very important meeting last week, and really needed my nails to last from the day I do my nails (Friday) until the days of the meeting (Tuesday and Wednesday). So, I went ahead and gave myself a gel manicure (as they were too busy to help me and helped myself to the products, as my sister is the manager there), using OPI gel products at Hairport.

Now, 8+ days later, after a week long of abuse, (paperwork, dishes, indoor rock climbing, and ripping through a really hard shell 2-lbs lobster), my nails are still looking as amazing as they did the first day I got them.

Gel nails or shellac are totally worth the money, as they last you at least two weeks (over the normal one week that a regular manicure gets you).

However, be forewarned that continuous gel/shellac manicures should be proceeded with caution, as these will dry out your nails. I would say for every two continuous gel/shellac manicures, opt for a regular manicure the next time. This way, your nails have time to breathe and heal and just be.

I don’t normally do gel on my nails. I only do it on special occasions.

Another great non-gel/shellac manicure would be to ask for the new vinyl polish from CND, a shellac company. They came out with a new vinyl polish that stays shiny for over a week, similar to gel/shellac, without the damage to your nails. And the cost of vinyl polish manicure is the same as a regular polish manicure. (At least it is at Hairport!)

Go out and try gel/shellac or vinyl manicure and let me know your thoughts!

My Recent Facial at SoundShapes (North End, Boston)

My skin has been so strange lately. I’ve noticed some dry patches, even though it’s summer and the weather has been quite humid. I was offered a complimentary facial at SoundShapes, and I never turn down free beauty services by reputable people/places, so I went for one earlier this week.

Ashleigh worked on me, and she explained to me that the dry patches are probably due to stress. Surprise, surprise! Why didn’t I think of that? I was busy with work and my Chinese Tea Ceremony/engagement party this past weekend. And Hurricane Arthur blowing through Boston on the date of my party (4th of July) did not help the situation! (I ended up having to move the party to the next day, and had to notify everyone attending of the changes. But that’s another story). Bottom line: Dry patches, skin reactions, are from stress.

We did a basic facial (cleansing, massage, extraction, etc.). But Ashleigh also did an enzyme peel. It sounds terrifying, right? “PEEL” But it wasn’t at all. Your skin has 4 layers, and the enzyme peel only takes off the top layer of your skin, which is where the dry, dead skin is. A chemical peel would take away more layers of your skin than the enzyme peel. For more details on chemical peels, refer to this WebMD link.

At SoundShapes, they use products by PCA, which can only be sold by and purchased at authorized/certified dealers and spas. Ashleigh used PCA’s pumpkin enzyme peel. It smells amazing. I just wanted to eat it. It’s basically a mask that is applied all over the face, and the feeling was a tingling sensation. It wasn’t painful at all. After a few minutes, the product is removed from the face with a warm, damp towel. There was no “peeling” associated with the product. Not like the masks I used when I was in middle school and high school, where you apply it and then once it dries, it becomes plastic-like, and you lift and peel it off your face. (That was FUN!).

I did not have any issues post peel. My skin feels super smooth, and was glowing from the awesome facial.

Ashleigh also gave me some products to try (cleanser, toner, moisturizer with SPF). And she recommended that I should start thinking about a chemical peel leading up to my wedding. She’s getting married really soon, and will be giving herself a peel.  After reading about the various chemical peels on the WebMD link, I think the one she’s recommending is more on the “mild” side of the chemical peels out there. It’s more just glycolic acid based product. I will check with her and blog more about that later. It’s not completely out of the question for me to try it, especially if it’s on the milder side of the chemical peels.

Whenever I hear of “chemical peels,” I think back to “Sex and the City” when Samantha got a chemical peel before an event and ended up covering her face with a veil. I don’t want to end up like THAT.

I might want to try the peel after summer’s over, so it can remove all the dead skin from the summer sun.

If any of you have had chemical peels done before, let me know your thoughts on them!

 

 

Spray Tan – Worth It or Not?

I recently had  my engagement pictures taken. And before the photo session, I overheard some clients at Hairport talk about a local spray tan place.  And I thought to myself, “it’d would be a good idea to look somewhat tan for the pictures.” This winter has been miserable, and I haven’t had any sun. So, the thought of looking like I got some sun, and not ghostly pale, was quite appealing to me. And I wanted to look awesome for my engagement photos!

So, I went for it… I made an appointment to get spray tan!And it’s not the kind with the booth that you go into and the machine sprays on you. It’s much better than that, at Natural Glow, the ladies there spray the tanning stuff on you. You get airbrushed by someone. So, you wouldn’t get the Ross from “Friends” incident, where he was being “Ross” and was neurotic with his counts, and kept getting sprayed in the front by the machine FOUR TIMES! (Still one of my favorite “Friends” episodes!). Yeah – I didn’t want THAT to happen to me. So, the whole idea of having someone spraying me, instead of a machine, was fantastic!

It was a bit strange to stand there, partially naked, while another person is spraying you. (You can get sprayed with all your under garments on, or completely off, or whatever way you want to have your tan lines look). The only times I’ve never been so exposed is when I go to my doctor for my annual visit! At least it’s another woman and not a man. THAT would be WAY creepy.

There are two lovely ladies who work at Natural Glow on Commercial Street in the North End. Both are named “Sara” and “Sarah.” I had Sarah. She was awesome. Super friendly. And extremely helpful.

I went in on a Monday, told her I was getting the spray tan for my engagement photo session on Saturday. She was worried that the tan would be somewhat faded by then. She worked with me. She sprayed me, and told me I could go back later in the week (Thursday or Friday) for a “touch up” session. So, I went to her on Thursday, and she did the touch up, FOR FREE! That was very nice out her.

The entire spray session takes about 5 minutes. I stood up, moved around, make funny poses that she asked me to make, as she sprays me. When she’s done, she leaves the room, and I just stood by a couple of fans to dry off for about a minute. Then, I put my clothes back on and went on my way.

What you need to know before you go spray tanning:

1. That stuff needs to dry for 8 hours before you can shower or wash your face – so go late in the day

2. Get your nails done before going – the nail polish remover will remove the spray tan from your nails

3. Wear loose-fitting clothes when you go there – so the tan is even on you when you leave with your clothes on

4. Shave / wax before going, or the tan will come off with the wax

5. Don’t go there directly after the gym/shower. Your pores will be open right after you shower. So, wait at least 30 minutes before going.

PRO’s about spray tan:

1. Safety – Looking tan without the risk of skin cancer or sun damage

2. Instant tan

3. You choose how light/dark you want

CON’s about spray tan:

1. The dye does get on your clothes (washes off the clothes though)

2. Uneven fading

3. Can’t exfoliate skin without ruining tan

All-in-all, I think it’s worth it. I would do this again for special occasions, like how I would get lash extensions for special occasions. It’s just too much maintenance to do it on a regular basis. But that’s me. I like to be more simple, if I could help it.

You can try it out and judge for yourself – is it worth the money?

Here are some pictures from my engagement photo session, by my wonderful uncle, Quang Le, along the Charles River with the cherry blossoms. You can see how nice the spray tan looks on me, and the makeup by yours truly.

ENJOY!

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My dress was from Loft, Embroidered Bodice Dress. Bought it specifically for this occasion, and it was 50% off (score!). Shoes were Stuart Weitzman wedges from a few seasons ago (bought from Ruelala, also at a discount). Purse is Louis Vuitton Tovili PM, bought years ago when I last went to Paris (Oh, how I miss Paris!), and it was less than half the price it is now! Trench coat is Burberry Buckingham Trench, bought from Nordstrom awhile ago. Makeup products were all Bobbi Brown products.

Hot nail polish color for Spring!!

Since my nails grow so fast, I had to take the shellac off my nails because the new growth is showing too much on my nails.

Anyhow, I decided it was time to go back to regular manicures again. Like I said before, shellac is good for vacations or special occasions, when you want your nails to look glossy, fresh, and new at all times!

Vacation’s over, back to reality. But I wasn’t ready to go back to regular French manicure. So, I decided to go with this season’s “IT” color – POPPY RED. That’s THE color of the season. Not too orangy, not too “blue red” either.

My polish of choice is Essie’s “Snap Happy” (shown on picture of my nails below). Another favorite of mine is Essie’s “Lollipop” which doesn’t look so good on Asian skin, but does look amazing on paler skin.

Go out and try these colors for yourself, and let me know what you think. 🙂

Time to go pamper yourselves! 😉

Exhale Spa Back on RueLaLa!!

Hurry, and get your web browser on RueLaLa.com. They’re having another deal for Exhale Spa services!! My favorite – True Facial & Massage for $170 is back! Woo hoo!!!

Perfect time for holiday gifts!!!

And don’t forget to go to RueLaLa through ebates.com so you can get 2.5% cash back on anything you buy on RueLaLa!!

Happy holidays shopping!!! 🙂

Spa Week Oct 15-19!! $50 Spa Treatments!!!

Listen up ladies and gents – Spa Week is from Oct 15 – 19, 2012, and many local spas are participating in it. Which means, they offer certain spa treatments for $50, services that are typically cost. For example, my favorite local spa, Exhale Battery Wharf, is offering 3 spa week deals: 5 Mind Body Classes, Smart Facial Peel, and Pure Mani & Pedicure; all for $50 each! And the 5 Mind Body classes deal is good for 2 months long, so you don’t have to go to 5 classes within the spa week. How sweet is that?!?!!

To find out which one of your local spas is offering Spa Week deals, Click here, and enter in your zip code in the search field. Call the spa you want to go to and book an appointment (or two). Tell them you’re interesting in the Spa Week deal and they will make a note about your spa week request and charge you only $50 for the service you requested. Very easy, and painless!

I already called Exhale Battery Wharf to book my spot in the Barre (Core Torture) Core Fusion class, and a Smart Facial Peel for post workout pampering with my favorite esthetician, Andrea. I can’t wait for my class and facial peel!

So, hurry, and get going with the web search and phone calls to the spa to book your treatment!!!

Happy shopping!!! 🙂

Exhale on Gilt Tomorrow – September 10th!!!

For those of you who do not know what Exhale is, it’s a spa that offers yoga and core fusion classes, in addition to the spa services. They have locations throughout major US cities: Boston, NYC, Miami, etc. You can visit Exhale’s website for more info.

I became a fan of Exhale, at their Arlington Street location, when I first moved back to Boston in 2009. I had just moved home from northern California, where I was spoiled by amazing Napa Valley spas and had no idea where to turn to for Napa-like spas in Boston. A friend of mine recommended Exhale to me, and I just fell in love. I loved that they offer yoga classes at the spa, so I could go to a yoga class, get all zen out, and then get pampered after my mind was completely at ease.

They recently opened a location at Battery Wharf, which is up the street from where I live in the North End, making it WAY easier for me to go there (just walk, no need to take the T or try to find parking in the Arlington location). Exhale spas have great facial and massage services, along with kick-ass core workout classes.

The last time I went to Exhale Battery Wharf, I took a Core Fusion class ($25), followed by a True Massage & Facial. I had gotten a package deal through RueLaLa for $170 for True Massage & Facial; which was a REALLY awesome deal, considering their cheapest facial runs about $130. Gilt Group have given similar offers in the past. As I recall, they may have had one (can’t remember how much, but I don’t think it was over $200) for a Mind Body class (a facial & a massage). Not a bad deal at all, in my opinion. I’m not sure what sort of deals they will be offering tomorrow, but I’m sure it will have a facial & massage package, which is what I’m after.

They also offer discount Mind Body class packages, but I am not so interested in those. Don’t get me wrong, the Mind Body classes there are amazing, and produce great results; I just can’t stand the torture. The Core Fusion course I took was more of a ballet bar course, which made me realize how weak my legs and core are. I definitely deserved my massage after that. I just don’t think I could go to a class and not have a massage after. So, for me to buy a 10 Mind Body course package, would mean I’d have to buy 10 facial & massage deals in order to pamper myself after the Mind Body torture. I’m just not rich enough to do that. Maybe after I win the PowerBall or Mega Millions, which I’ve been paying, but no luck… yet 😉

Set your reminders on your phone and work Outlook tomorrow, so you don’t miss the Gilt deal for Exhale. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Happy shopping!!! 🙂

Great Deal for Elizabeth Grady Spas on Travelzoo

For those of you who do not know about this deal, it is currently being promoted by www.travelzoo.com. This website offers special travel deals, such as complete vacation package deals at discounted rates, and local deals for movies, restaurants, spas, etc. Membership for this site is free. I have been a member for years now. I have gotten great deals on here, including tickets to the Peter 360 Experience with my uncle last year.

Right now, you can pay $75 for a $125 spa service/treatment. Go here for more info: http://www.travelzoo.com/local-deals/Boston/Spa/14442

I think I might buy this deal and get a massage. Apparently, you can get a one-hour deep-tissue massage and a spa manicure with this deal (a regular deep-tissue massage is $90). Not bad.

Happy shopping/pampering! 🙂