Blaynistas Invade Carol’s Daughter

October 14, 2011 | By

We sent dozens bloggers all across the country to preview some Spa Week appointments to give you a sneak peek at Fall Spa Week’s #50dollartreatments everywhere! After Mommy Niri and Angela from Lip Gloss Break, we sent beauty editor, Channing from The Blay Report to The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa at Carol’s Daughter in Harlem, NYC to preview the Sweet Almond Treat Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment and Gift with Purchase of Almond Cookie Frappe Body Lotion that they are offering for Spa Week for just $50.

The Best Part: Channing got to choose between a bunch of high-end nail polishes like Ginger & Liz, Chanel and Deborah Lippmann — along with our favorites Essie and OPI. Channing was thrilled to try a top-of-the-line lacquer as she had never had this option at any other spa she’d been to before. Thankfully,  the somewhat daunting task of sorting through hundreds of brands and shades was minimized by a showering of mimosas! Channing got to ask lots of questions and was overjoyed that her manicurist didn’t seem to mind she had lots of questions. She even got some expert advice, below:

Insider’s Spa Tip: The actual treatment was really relaxing with the non-traditional set up. My gorgeous manicurist, Lekendra was super sweet. I asked her how readers can take care of their feet at home. You know, so you aren’t embarrassed when you show up for your appointment. I kid– kind of. “People who have rough patches of skin, can get a foot paddle and rub underneath the sole,” she said. She suggests doing it on dry skin, and clean up the excess after a shower when your skin is damp. But not too often ‘Nistas and ‘Nistos, our girl Lekendra says no more than twice a week. You could actually could make the callous situation worst. After sloughing off your dead skin, load up on the heavy moisturizer and wear cotton socks so the moisture is able to soak in. Then you won’t be so embarrassed to bare your feet for Lekendra.


In her own words: “I can’t tell you ladies how much I enjoyed my time at The Back Room Spa at Carol’s Daughter. My Sweet Almond Treat Manicure and Pedicure with cuticle treatment and gift with purchase of Almond Cookie Frappe Body Lotion (smells soo good) hit the spot!” Read all about Channing’s Back Room adventures on The Blay Report and on her own blog, Channing in the City.



24 West 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
212.828.6757


$50 Spa Week Treatments:

  • Haute Chocolate Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment and Gift with Purchase of Peppermint Foot Lotion
  • Sweet Almond Treat Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment and Gift with Purchase of Almond Cookie Frappe Body Lotion

 

Filed Under: Spa Treatments, Spa Week Event, Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

We’re Building a Spa Renaissance in Harlem!

September 26, 2011 | By

“We’re moving on up to the East Side, to deluxe $50 dollar treatments in the sky!” With the Jeffersons jingle on repeat in our heads, we are expanding this Spa Week season in the great neighborhood of Harlem, and we’re pretty excited about it if you couldn’t tell…

We are welcoming old favorites and have sought out new Harlem hotspots. They include spas that have been featured on Oprah’s favorite things, facial peels, one-of-a-kind manicures, and fabulous massages. Move on up and get your zen on like a real uptown girl.

The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa at Carol’s Daughter

With a cult-like following (including Oprah!) for her well-established spa and beauty brand for women of color, owner Lisa Price spared no expense for this lavish spa, featuring these custom green armchairs. Michelle took her own mom, Carol, there for a birthday spa day and had a grand old time sipping mimosas and getting their feet turned to beautiful mush. It is tucked away behind Carol’s Daughter flagship store on 125th street. 212.828.6757. Try their seasonal $50 treatments:

  • Haute Chocolate Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment and Gift with Purchase of Peppermint Foot Lotion
  • Sweet Almond Treat Manicure and Pedicure including Cuticle Treatment and Gift with Purchase of Almond Cookie Frappe Body Lotion

Harlem Skin Clinic

The mission of Harlem Skin Clinic is to provide natural skincare solutions for all skin types. 917.723.7162. Their $50 treatments include:

  • 60 Min Microcurrent Non-Surgical Facelift Energy Facial
  • 60 Min Dr. Alkaitis Organic Balancing Facial including Extractions
  • 60 Min Baby Boomer Peel

POLISHED Finger Tips

The signature scent at POLISHED will be your first encounter, followed with a friendly greeting and an invitation to have a calming cup of green tea. 212.222.4466. Pretty up your nails and feet with their $50 treatments:

  • 60 Min Polished Signature Facial with Extractions using Sphatika Products
  • Shellac Manicure and Peppermint Spa Polished Pedicure for Tired Feet
  • Choice of Naturopathica Pumpkin or Cherry Peel or Brazilian and Underarm Wax

Turning Heads Salon & Day Spa

Turning Heads makes heads turn way up on Lenox. 212.828.4600. Take advantage of their $50 treatments:

  • Try their new 60 Min Thai Massage including Yoga Stretches, Compressions and Massage ($125 value)
  • 60 Min Signature Facial with Perfecting Plant Peel ($135 value)
  • 60 Min Swedish Aromatherapy Massage ($100)

Photo via

Filed Under: Spa Week Event, Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Spa Week Media Party Recap – Spring 2011

April 11, 2011 | By

Spa Week is officially underway! Every season we salute the week of ultimate spa indulgences with a big shebang to highlight select $50 treatments, as well as our fantastic sponsors. This year we topped the charts with our best media celebration yet—or so we hear.

On April 6th, over 400 editors, TV personalities, bloggers and special guests swarmed the Prince George Ballroom in NYC for an evening of shmoozing and pampering. What went on inside the gold-trimmed Victorian walls? Let’s take the tour:

The CAREFREE Refresh Lounge

The CAREFREE Brand holds Title Sponsorship of Spa Week this year, and to celebrate their newest product, their highly absorbent Acti-Fresh liners, they created and presented a signature spa treatment that had every single guest feeling calm, breezy and supremely refreshed. The CAREFREE Misting Massage had guests reclining in lounge chairs while getting their head and hands massaged.

Matchmaking with YOUNGBLOOD Mineral Cosmetics

The hot eco-friendly makeup brand Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics brought all the glitz, glamour and allure of backstage at a fashion show right to the Spa Week Media Party. With their founder Pauline Youngblood at the helm, the team of makeup artists behind our Exclusive Cosmetics Sponsor did “matchmaking,” pairing each guest with their skincare soulmate makeup colors, such as honey, coffee and toffee.

DOLE Real Fruit Bites Flavored Oxygen Bar and Photo Booth

DOLE knows how to keep a party happening! Our Exclusive Food Sponsor took a unique approach to presenting the flavors of their mighty delicious and nutritious little snack with an Oxygen Bar. Choose Pineapple, Mango or Apple, then float downstream while finding a wave of newfound energy. Then stop in the the DOLE photo booth, put on some big funny glasses, and strike a pose 4 times with your friends.

clariSEA Make-Your-Own Salt Scrub Bar

The clariSEA booth was like being a kid in a sandbox all over again… a kid who has a mature interest silky smooth, blemish-free skin. And hand massages. Guests had the chance to interact with our Exclusive Skin Care Sponsor to create their own custom salt scrubs—they mixed some clarifying salt with straight up Dead Sea salt with pomegranate flavor in take-home tubs. The salts do wonders for you knees, elbows and body as a whole.

Vdara Hotel & Spa, Citycenter Las Vegas Lounge

Guests had the chance to relax in the Vdara lounge while learning about this unique Las Vegas destination—a non-smoking, non-gaming hotel and spa. As our Exclusive Destination Sponsor for 2011, Vdara knows a thing or two about pampering—they were giving all guests the chance to win a ridiculous penthouse getaway! (You can win it too.)

The Bar: GIVEN Liquor

Delicious cocktails by GIVEN Liqueur (pronounced Jee-Vahn) kept spirits high all night long, literally. If you have not yet tasted, you simply must! It is a unique blend of premium agave tequila and natural lime juice handcrafted in France—the ideal balance between a spirit and a liqueur, and goes down almost too easily. They served up four signature cocktails: The Cure (Chilled GIVEN on ice) The Freshening (with muddled cucumber and mint) The Immunity Booster (splash of cran) and The Stress Buster (fresh muddled berries).

Guests also sipped on Honest Tea and Hint Water as a refreshing alternative to alcoholic beverages.

Spa Chicks On The Go

Throwing a spa party in your office? Need a few masseuses for a runway show or your brand’s media event? Spa Chicks is a company that delivers customized spa and beauty experiences for private, corporate and media clients, and at our party they were shaping up eyebrows by threading.

The Spas:

Spa Martier, known for their 24K Gold Facial, did beautiful express manicures.

Euphoria Spa relieved all the neck and back tension with chair massages.

Carol’s Daughter – The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa did hand exfoliation treatments.

Supple Spa had guests lay down on a bed for reflexology and massage.

The Goody Bags

We like to go all out each season by creating the goody bags of a lifetime to make sure each guests leaves with a pampering experience to take home with them. Each bag included gifts from each of the exclusive sponsors, as well as items ranging from slippers to nail polishes to teeth whitening kits to bikini adornment. Rather than listing everything here, stay tuned to the blog as we review each of the items in Little Luxury Reports. It’ll take a while, but we’ll get there!

Check out some more snaps from the party, here and on our Facebook page!

Filed Under: Events, Spa Week Event, Spa Week Event Press Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Carol & Her Daughter Visit Carol’s Daughter

October 14, 2010 | By

My mom’s name is Carol and she loves foot rubs. So, for her birthday a few weekends ago there was only one thing I could think of to do: Take her to The Back Room at Carol’s Daughter, a famous hand and foot spa.

Before getting into our perfectly tongue-in-cheek mommy-daughter spa day, I’d like to point out the tremendous cult following of Carol’s Daughter. The brand has over 425,000 engaged fans on their Facebook page who love the brand, from their new Curl-enhancing MILK hair line to their musings on inner beauty. The company was founded by Lisa, who’s mom was obviously Carol.

harlem spas

Located in the heart of Harlem in New York City, the flagship retail space is enormous for the amount of product, making a clear statement that Carol’s Daughter is no small player. The staff drew us in immediately, making us laugh and pouring champagne within minutes of arrival. High ceilings followed us into The Back Room, an intimate space that blended royal pedicure thrones with cracked lacquered paint.

The treatments were thorough, the facilities were sparkling and sterile, and the experience stirred up all 5 senses. We previewed their 2 Spa Week treatments: I got the 75 Min Love Your Hands and Feet Paraffin and Massage Treatment (mani/pedi included), and my mom received the 60 Min Chai Massala Pedicure (she had recently gotten a manicure).

The pedicure bowls were garnished with delightful fresh oranges and rose petals, the spa soundtrack was a soulful R&B mix, and our lower limbs became works of art as we enjoyed scrubs, masks, lotions and massages from our knees to our toes.

Inspired by the young modelesque technician Dana Michelle who did my mom’s feet, I chose a vibrant glittery turquoise-blue polish called Charla by ZOYA. It was one of my most complimented manicures in a while… either they loved it or just felt they had to say SOMETHING because it’s an impossible color to miss.

Zoya nailpolish turquoise

INTERVIEW: From One Carol’s Daughter to Another

Lisa Price shares business success, beauty secrets, and the best kind of massages.

lisa price and carol

The original Carol and her Daughter

So, we both have a mom named Carol. You must have met other daughters of Carols who get excited about this. Is this your first interview from another Carol’s daughter?

As far as I know you are the 2nd Carol’s daughter to interview me.

What’s your most vivid beauty/pampering moment with mom growing up?

Well, my mom was not much of a beauty pampering type person.  She began to pamper herself only after I made products and then she became addicted.  The advice my mom gave me about beauty was not to use too much makeup and not to use it all the time.  She said that I should always know what I really look like and love myself flaws and all.

You have a Facebook following of over 425,000. What’s your secret?

I am honest and authentic.  I engage our guests and let them into our world and my space and we talk about what is important to us.  Our topics resonate and they know that I am ALWAYS listening.

Why a spa for just hands and feet?

It is a great way to, pardon the pun, get your feet wet in the service business.  Less overhead and less space required than a spa that offers massages, etc.  Manicures and pedicures for many of us is not a luxury but something we must do on a regular basis to be properly groomed.  Why not take that perfunctory service and make it anything but,  I am always looking for ways to turn ordinary experiences into stress-relieving, moments to exhale.  I know that other busy women feel the same way.

What was the last thing you put on your hands and feet?

The last color I had was a deep green shade from Ginger Lily.  We can get you the name.  I had our new Chai Masala service about a week ago.  Heaven! However, this morning I used our Brown Sugar Scrub to exfoliate my feet and I massaged them with Sage and Shea Foot Butter about 10 minutes ago.  That is something I try to do every night.  Sometimes, my husband gives me the massage and that’s just the best.

What is your all-time favorite product from your line?

Overall, my Hair Milk is my favorite.  My curls can’t live without it.  But of my hands and feet line, it is the Sage and Shea Foot Butter.

The beauty secret you live by?

I take care of myself from the inside out.  I use makeup to conceal and enhance not to hide behind.  I take my mother’s advice and give myself a break from it and love who I am and what I look like.  I exercise regularly and hard and I make a concerted effort to eat right.  I have a loving family and it is important to me to spend time with them.  My children make me feel young and keep me on my toes.  My husband is my best friend and the person I can always go to no matter what.  All of this is what makes me beautiful.  Because I am happy.

What’s one thing that everyone in the world should know about Carol’s Daughter?

That this is a brand with amazing products that are made with wonderful ingredients by people that are so passionate about what they do.  I work very hard at trying to build my brand into a household name.  I am not just a Founder or just a face.  I am in the office everyday and I love it!

The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa at Carol’s Daughter
24 West 125th Street
New York, NY 10027
212.828.6717

Filed Under: Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Little Luxury Report: Carol’s Daughter Lemon and Rose Hand Cream

March 17, 2010 | By

logo3
Today we invited Anne Fritz of The Jet Set Girls to tell us about one her favorite Little Luxuries. Turns out, it’s a gem from Carol’s Daughter, one of our New York Spa Week spas!

The Little Luxury: Carol’s Daughter Lemon and Rose Hand Cream

Relationship Status: It’s a bedtime essential right up there with brushing, removing my makeup and kissing my man good night. But in terms of luxury, it’s like taking a bubble bath without the soap and water.

Richer than Carlos Slim! Carol’s Daughter Lemon and Rose Hand Cream really does it best. I’ve tried just about every hand cream on the market and this is the only one that has as much staying power as the cellulite on my thighs.

Advice for new Carol’s Daughter Lemon and Rose Hand Cream users: A little bit goes a long way. It’s only sold in a 2 oz jar for a reason. On that note, you need to hide it from your roommate, kids, hubby, coworkers, etc.

Naturally… Like all Carol’s Daughter products, it’s paraben-free with no petroleum, mineral oil or artificial color.

Afternoon Tea for your Hands: The lemon and rose scent is sweet without being cloying, kind of like a cross between lemon pound cake and a cup of tea. I’ve never worn cotton gloves at night with regular cream, but I imagine the results are similar.

Good Things Come In Small Packages: Carolsdaughter.com, $12 for 2 oz.

Indulge in Carol’s Daughter during Spa Week 2010! For extra decadence, visit the hidden Back Room Spa at the Harlem store and indulge in a 90 Minute Rose Petal Ritual, available for $50 during Spa Week. (Check their listing in our Spa Directory) After soaking your hands in rose petals, milk, coconut and tapioca which softens skin and cuticles, the manicurist slathers your hands with Lemon and Rose Hand Cream. Your hands will clap for joy.

Hot Stone Scale: 6 out of 6

hot-stone-scale_6stones2

Filed Under: Beauty & Style, Skin Care, Spas Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,