It’s up and coming, it’s old and happening in India, but Sugaring is new to me and supposedly it eliminates the breakouts associated with waxing (hello, miracle!). Courtney sent this link for an Eco Spa in Granada Hills called Naya Fresh Body Spa (which looks like a winner). I’m going to be making a visit within the next couple of weeks, so I’ll keep you posted. I did a bit of google research on it and there’s tons of home recipes, reviews, products and chitter chatter on sugaring, but as with everything else, not everything is for every body.

Technorati Tags body sugaring, eco friendly spa, green-spa, naya fresh body spa

So I recently went in to Dr. Marks for a consultation about Laser Hair Removal, and left thinking that it was a bit too expensive at the moment for what I’m wanting to get done - My face, which was quoted at approx. 150 PER SESSION and needing 6 sessions, with a price break at 5 sessions, which ended up coming to like around $850 bucks, I was warned also that during the summer months, that the laser actually leaves your skin in a fragile/exposed state for discolorations due to the sun. That’s two strikes. THEN I caught a clip of Kimora Lee going for Laser treatment and complaining of the pain (and she had a camera in there so you know she was trying to look cute while in pain)…so I’m thinking that is 3 strikes.

Then Brianette sent me this flyer:

And I would be lyin’ if I didn’t say that it didn’t catch my attention…say word? I could maybe tolerate a few painful sessions and keep the cost under a C-note to rid of my waxable mustache (say it isn’t so!) …you know? Plus Staci said it doesn’t hurt…

I’ll keep you all posted on what I decide…I might just give them a call after the July 4th holiday and see what google says about the skin pigmentation issue. Oh yea, and I will just pretend that I never saw the Kimora Lee clip where she said it hurt.

Technorati Tags consultation, dark spots, didn, Dr.-Marks, hair, hair-removal, Kimora, kimora lee simmons getting laser, Laser, laser hair removal, Lee, pain, PER SESSION, Removal, Skin, Staci, summer, sunspots, upper lip

I went and got my whole face waxed because I figured that it was time for a facial and after I get one, I wouldn’t be able to wax for a couple of weeks, but after this wax job, my ENTIRE face broke out with small white bumps - similar probably to small pox. Dude…GROSS! It’s been a week already and while it looks a bit better, it’s still major nasty and I honestly think (I know I’ve said this before) but I really need to consider an alternative to hair removal. Oh god, aging sucks ass.

Technorati Tags breaking out, facial-hair-removal, skincare, waxing

If you have never gotten your eyebrows threaded, you really are missing out on perfectly sculptured brows. Yea it hurts, but beauty hurts, bitch! When I was in college at CSULB, I would take the bus to the Cerritos Ziba Beauty to get mehndi, threading and whatever else I was in dire need of (read: could afford at the time).

While walking in the Topanga mall the other day, I noticed a banner saying that Ziba Beauty now had a boutique on Nordstrom part of the mall. Sign me up!!! I am going to make my way there this week at some point, so my review will be up later on.

Since I am a huge fan of Ziba, I am confident that this boutique will offer fantastic services like the others in the lower southern cali area. As I get older, I am having some bad results from facial waxing and am looking forward to nice smooth skin minus the breakouts

here is a video I found on youtube that shows threading, although the woman who did mine put one end of the string in her mouth between her teeth and used the free hand to smooth/pull the skin.

Technorati Tags eyebrow-threading, Eyebrows, henna, mehndi, waxing, ziba-beauty

I had my arms waxed friday and surprisingly it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. I’ve always had a problem with hairy arms, but hey, I’m Mexican - we all do, don’t we? Anyway - I headed to NailSpaLA in Chatsworth - (be sure to ask for Stacy - she rocks) for a quick zip and woo hoo I have smooooooth arms now! I kind of wish I would have figured this one out like 20 years ago…or even listened to my friend Brianette who used to get hers done regularly as recent as 4 (maybe 5?) years ago. So yay. smooth arms sofar - I wonder why my face breaks out but my arms stay super smooth? Hmmm. Next time I may drink some brave-aide and get my armpits waxed. LOLLLL!

Technorati Tags arm-waxing, Everything-Hair, face-waxing, hair-removal, spa, SpaBlog, waxing

Does anyone have any suggestions to help eliminate breaking out on my face after waxing? I’ve tried almost every single facial hair removal and have the best luck / less breakout with waxing (minus lazer hair removal) and am wondering if perhaps a topical something or other might help?

Technorati Tags break-outs, facial-hair, facial-hair-removal, Home Spa, SpaBlog, waxing

Some people are put on this earth to beautify America, one eyebrow at a time. Sandi Salerno is one of those people. Flirt Salon is where it all goes down.

First: A long and well-deserved digression lavishly praising Sandi’s relentlessly thorough waxing skills - my original reason for seeking her services more than a year ago, and also my primary reason for following her from two other salons to her new place Flirt, which she opened at the beginning of the summer. It is notable that I am, in Sandi’s own words, “a big baby.” I may have been blessed in the womb by the Not Very Much Body Hair Fairy, but I was sadly equally blessed by the Overly Sensitive Skin Fairy, and I have been known to sing a lot of opera whilst prostrate on Sandi’s table. Opera like high-pitched, drawn-out cussing. Variations On The F Word In G Minor.

***WARNING: REFERENCES TO LADYPATCHES AHEAD***

Continue reading ‘Flirt Salon, Burbank’

Technorati Tags chaia, Everything-Else, Eyebrows, flirt, Spa-reView, waxing

Ok so this visit to the Woodland Hill’s Nordstrom Anastasia Boutique saved my eyebrows!! A few weeks ago, I had purchased the big whoop-di-do stencils from Anastasia Beverly Hills and actually butchered my eyebrows to infinity. I figured that since the Anastasia stencils led me to this massacre, it was only right to go right back to the source to try to salvage my 1.5 brow that I now had. And omg she did! I now am the proud owner of two FABULOUS perfect Kim Kardashian-esque eyebrows, even tho O says that they look like Frida Khalo’s because he is used to seeing me with uber-thin brows methinks. I am going to take before and after pics to share the glory. Thanks SO much to Carly at the Anastasia Boutique at Nordstroms’ for being my salvation. I do suggest that if any of you attempt to ‘do’ your brows with the DIY method - totally book an appointment at either the actual spa, or your local boutique (nordstroms) and fork out the $25 bucks for the actual shaping, grooming, wax, application & tutorial with one of these skilled ladies before you end up with 1.5 brow like I did. word up.

Technorati Tags brows, Directory, DIY, Everything-Hair, Home Spa, Spa-reView, waxing

Greetings! My name is Chaia and I do a lot of beauty stuff at home. Partially because I’m cheap, partially because I’m crafty. I’ve gotten really good at some things and….not so good at others. I look forward to sharing my experiences here on Spa View.

The following is a cautionary tale:

They say that some lessons have to be earned to be learned. I believe I experienced such a lesson the time I decided to self-Brazilian. The financial tide was out and I couldn’t deal with the downstairs stubble, so I bought the Bliss Poetic Wax kit (about $40 at Sephora), figuring I’d just D.I.Y.M.P.

Gentle readers - Please believe me when I tell you that it is MUCH, MUCH less painful to get your bits depilated by a qualified professional than to take matters into your own hands. Knowing what I know now, I would have just spent that $40 on a visit to my regular esthetician (review coming soon, because she is five-star awesome). My hands were sweating and shaking, and I was actually whimpering from the pain - even on 800mg ibuprofen - but determined to see this project to completion. Worst of all, I was in such fear and pain that the process took an hour…six times as long as it takes when said qualified professional does it. An hour of horror.

Equally bad: The wax (blue colored) went EVERYWHERE. My bathroom was trashed; my manicure ruined; and I had to conduct a total Our Bodies, Ourselves-style full body cavity search in order to rid myself of the excess product. That said, the results were quite satisfactory; I’d followed the easy-to-understand, minimalistic directions to the letter - melt wax, cleanse skin, apply powder or oil, apply wax, rip off, scream, apply supplied soothing oils, take another painkiller - and ended up with smooth skin, if a traumatized psyche. The one thing that surprised me was how long it took for the wax to melt; it’s in a metal cup, so microwaves are out of the question and old-school double boiler action it is.

Satisfactory results aside, however, I would rather dress up in my favorite ensemble and spend an hour having chimpanzees pelt me with their feces than have to live through this ever again. There is a time and a place for frugality, but poon waxing is not it.

Stay Beautiful,

–Chaia

Technorati Tags chaia, Home Spa, Spa-reView, waxing

NAILSPA SALON
20423 Devonshire Blvd. (Trader Joe Shopping Center)
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818-998-8900

The NailSpa has a sign outside stating that they believe in top quality Spa services at affordable prices. The real deal? Absolutely! I was really amazed at the quality of service, the level of cleanliness and actually am able to have my appointments actually READY on time!.

Best of the Best:
Victor for French Manicure gel acrylic combo nails. Super fast, amazingly perfect nails.
Waxing: Staci for legs, eyebrows, arms
Massage: Connie. Simply Amazing! Hint: bring your own towel/sheet because they line the massage bed with that tissue paper similar to the doctors office. But Connie is so amazing that you soon forget the crinkle sound in your ears.

To Top it all off, the prices are competative to the filthy nailshops that you will find in the inner valley!

Visit NailspaLA.com for more info - and additional locations.

Technorati Tags Manicure, Spa-reView, waxing