Perhaps this blog post is part of a self-fulfilling prophesy, but I’m telling you… the 24 Karat Gold Facial at Spa Martier in New York City will be the first $50 Treatment to completely book up for Spa Week when booking starts on Monday.

Why?

I visited the chic Manhattan spa (located underneath the lust-worthy Martier clothing boutique) last Friday, one of the exclusive spas across the country to offer 24kt gold treatments, and my initial thoughts were exactly what you’re thinking: A pure 24 karats of gold on my face? Gimmick! Well… as it turns out: Not so.

Here’s why it works: The chemical properties of gold happen to complement human skin quite perfectly: The negative ion from pure gold is on the same wavelength as that of a bioelectric current, and most skin problems are due to a bioelectric current imbalance, bad blood circulation and build-up of waste in the body.

24kt gold is extremely soft and malleable in its pure gold foil form, which makes for a smooth application. It’s hydrating, removes impurities, improves elasticity and promotes blood circulation.  Applying pure gold’s negative ion to skin rejuvenates the cell structure, stimulates metabolism and improves the natural healing process.

All this chemistry talk melts down to one thing: I left the spa with a beautiful golden glow, it visibly evened out my skin tone a great deal, and a week later I can still see and feel the effects.

The facial did not include extractions or many of the traditional steps of a facial, but as though a 24kt gold mask wasn’t enough, they used a serum with gold flakes in it. I jokingly asked, “24kt Gold, that’s all you got?”

“Actually no…” and then they applied the finishing moisturizer: made with platinum.

They are only taking a limited number of $50 Spa Week appointments, and this facial costs $250 when it’s not Spa Week. So if you’re in New York and want to get your gold glow on April 11-17, I suggest you call and book it first thing Monday morning when the $50 Spa Week Directory goes live!

Spa Martier
1012 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10022
646.781.9758

If I had another Bat Mitzvah, my praises for the Holy Land of Israel would include a footnote about the salt.

Dorit Baxter Day Spa, one of New York’s coziest and most classic day spas located in Midtown Manhattan, has a wide assortment of treatments and an expert staff that feels a lot like family. When it comes to ingredients they use only the best, and so they import their salt from the Dead Sea of Israel. These salts contain over 80 minerals that are essential to your skin’s health. I’ve had a number of salt scrubs in my day, but this one was hands down (and up and down and up and down…) one of the most thorough, exfoliating, relaxing and massaging of them all.

The video says it all. Dorit Baxter has been part of the Spa Week family for many years, and you can try the 45 Min Sea Salt Body Scrub with Warm Hand Paraffin there during Spa Week for just $50. Booking begins this coming Monday, March 14th. And if you think you’d just be heading in for a hypothetical jaunt to a salty beach in the Holy Land, you’re wrong! Check it out–

Benefits of a Body Scrub:

• Exfoliates and cleans the skin better than regular soaps or cleansers
• Removes dead skin cells to reveal a younger skin layer
• Thoroughly cleans your pores allowing your skin to breathe better
• Stimulates blood circulation and removes daily toxins from your skin
• Helps future skin regeneration which keeps your skin looking younger
• Strengthens and firms skin tissues

Paraffin wax is used to treat a wide variety of problems such as:

• Arthritis
• Bursitis
• Eczema
• Fibromyalgia
• Fibrositis
• Inflammation
• Muscle Spasms
• Overworked/Fatigued Muscles
• Psoriasis
• Scar Tissue
• Stiff Joints
• Tendonitis
• Tennis Elbow

AMEN.

Dorit Baxter New York Day Spa
45-47 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10019
212.371.4542

If Spa Week and Fashion Week had a baby, it would look a little something like this:

Here’s the story. Yesterday I had a Lipomassage at Smooth Synergy Cosmedical Spa in New York City, the first spa to offer the superior CelluM6 Integral Machine, a non-invasive piece of spa technology that smooths, tones, and tightens your body so you can look like Gwenyth, Wonderwoman, or you at 17 again.

What does one wear for such this procedure of rolling away your cellulite and shrinking your fat cells? Exhibit A, an opaque white glorified body stocking:

This is what the ensemble looks like in its usual setting, as the technician Tamara sculpts my buttox by rolling the wand in computer-guided motions.

Being that it’s Fashion Week, I tweeted what was on my mind as a lay in this awkward yet form-fitting piece of spattire: Think I can I throw a jacket over this and head to Lincoln Center?

Almost immediately I got a tweet back: Do it.

If you know me at all, you know I take no challenge lightly, especially one that involves bringing a peculiar spa uniform into the most fashionable place on earth. PETA and the spa purists may throw red paint on me, but I’m willing to risk it.

Tonight, join me live as I make my rounds to the debut of White Trash Beautiful, a new fashion line by Nikki Lund and Bon Jovi at 6:30… followed by Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. show at Lincoln Center at 8. Now that I have the iPhone I will livestream as much of the action as possible! Tune in later right here as the girl in the giant pantyhose hits the scene.

Live TV : Ustream

PS… Look who randomly walked by during my little photo shoot… ma girls Ashley and Rie from LuxurySpot.com! They say coincidence, I say they were just stalking to see me in a body spandex.

and PPS… going to the bathroom is just as annoying as it looks.

So, it seems the standard serene spa lady with hot stones on her back simply did not suffice for Enrique Ramirez, owner of face to face nyc.  The photos you see here, featured casually on his website amidst photos of the shabby chic reception area and treatment menus, are the faces of his popular boutique spa, catering primarily to gay and metrosexual men, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood.

As you saw in this Live Spa TV segment, face to face nyc is a lovely spa space with a talented, highly professional staff and fantastic services. So where did these photos come from? In this interview with Enrique, see how his “sexy spa art” came to be an art genre all its own, national TV appearances included.

Spa Week Daily: You have definitely taken an out-of-the-box approach to presenting your spa. What is the inspiration behind it?

Enrique Ramirez: Besides beauty, I’m a big fashion fanatic so I always like the sexy, provocative approach of designers such as Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein. Since we specialize in skin care, it was important that our images showed beautiful skin

SWD: Is everyone besides you in the photos part of your staff? (Enrique is the one wearing a shirt)

ER: No, all were paid professional models.

SWD: You have a very loyal following at your spa. What do your clients say about your Spa Art?

ER: They were taken by surprise at first, almost shocked, but now they love them. I did hear that some other companies in the beauty and fashion industry saw them as offensive and I was even accused of degrading women.

SWD: Be more specific – what sort of problems have you run into because of the images?

ER: As I mentioned before, initially when I introduced the ad campaign many took offense at the images. Some said they were ‘too gay’, ‘porn-like’ and simply ‘disgusting’. I started by introducing Anal Bleaching to New Yorkers back in the Fall of 2007 with a very beautiful image and at that time I was being attacked by almost everyone.

SWD: Speaking of the flipside… hopefully there’s a flipside?

ER: The positive side is that I got a full page article in Time Out NY and I appeared on the Howard Stern Show.

SWD: You describe your spa as VERY New York, and after visiting, I agree. What do you think makes a spa “New York”?

ER: By that I mean that New Yorkers are smart, stylish, funny, hard-working, and assertive with an edgy side.  And that basically is my hard core clientele!

SWD: Overall, how do you think your marketing has affected your business?

ER: We certainly got many more clients than we would have, had we used conventional spa images. I think the images attract a unique clientele who are looking for out-of-the-box type spa treatments who are turned away by ‘normal’ spas. Overall, it has made a positive impact on business.

SWD: When were these photos taken?

ER: These images were taken by Jon Moe, a former model turned photographer, back in the Fall of 2007, but the contract between the photographer and my spa ends very soon. I’ll need new ones.

SWD: How will you ever follow this up! What’s next?

ER: It’ll be similar to the current one but using more female models. In 2011 I’m going mainstream and targeting the female market with female-specific treatments such as Vajazzle and Lash Extensions later this Spring. In the process of creating a new tag line such as…”girls who likes boys who likes spas” or “gays, bring your gal pal to spa heaven”. I would love to get feedback from your readers!!

Chime in: What should Enrique’s female-targeted slogan be? And do these photos make you want to visit the spa, or the opposite?

face to face nyc
20 West 20th Street, Suite 603
New York, NY 10011
212.633.0404

The CEO of Spa Week Media Group just tasked me with the duty of booking her the best massage in New York for this Saturday. I booked her 90 minutes with none other than Soli Davis, the spa director at Shibumi Spa.

Soli is admittedly a science geek. She takes nothing at face value (including facials), always researching health claims that pop up in the news, and often seeing right through them. It’s why editors call her all the time for quotes; Soli knows her stuff. She uses all Bionova skincare products, a brand rooted deeply in Biology. For the science geek in us all, I’ve included reflexology charts below, all of which Soli could map out blindfolded. She also signs off her emails with “love, light and laughter,” all of which you will feel in Soli’s warm presence.

With a mix of sass and science-based spa techniques, Soli Davis gave me her famous 90 Minute Facial with Reflexology peppered with facts and tips to give my brain a massage to boot. Literally.

Soli’s treatment, which uses a hybrid of modalities and that she’s crafted meticulously over the years, includes all the typical checkpoints of a great facial: exfoliating, extractions, a peel mask, moisturizer, etc. But what’s particularly notable was everything else that came with it: Her fingers dug deep my scalp, neck, shoulders, forehead and jaw, kneading out all tension with pinpoint accuracy, treating not just my face, but everything that surrounds it and mobilizes it.

Many good facialists include a foot massage while a mask is setting, but Soli turns it up a notch—her facial is not complete without the reflexology that goes with it. The difference between reflexology and a regular foot rub is that therapists who specialize in reflexology can efficiently target various parts of your body by way of your feet, and that’s exactly what Soli did. “This is your neck, these are your sinuses…” she explained as she worked her way through my face and body via the soles of my feet. She also did reflexology on my hands and ears, offering a similar full body therapy.

After the treatment I felt and looked noticeably refreshed. My skin glowed. My eyes looked wider and more awake. My neck, which is perpetually creaky if I stretch it the right (or wrong?) way, was literally unable to creak. How’d she do it!?

This treatment was supposed to be a Live Spa TV segment, canceled once before because I was too sick to spa (awesome blog post, btw), and now again due to technical difficulties (even an Apple genius was stumped). The segment has once again been postponed, date TBA, when you can see it in action. Stay tuned.

But by all means, don’t let ME hold you up! You MUST experience this facial for yourself. Seriously, I urge you, and it’s ONLY $99 right now if you mention Spa Week, courtesy of Spa Week’s spa deals. Call now and ask for Soli. Go, go, go!

Shibumi Spa – Eastern Athletic’s Tribeca Sanctuary
80 Leonard Street
New York, NY 10013
212.343.8788

All January Deals at Shibumi Spa:
Choice of 75 Min Exclusive Bionova Blue Lamp Facial for $125, normally $200, 45 Min Anti-Oxidant Exfoliation from Head to Toe for $70, or 90 Min Custom Facial with Reflexology designed by Soli with elements of Shiatsu, Lymphatic Drainage and Tibetan Ayurvedic Marma Points for $99, normally $165. Also receive a complimentary Guest Pass to the Eastern Athletic Club-Tribeca on the day of your treatment to take a class, work out, or use the steam room or sauna. Please remember to bring a lock for the locker room.

Disclosure

Reflexology charts via tcmadvisory.com (ear) reflexologyguide.org (hand) reflexologyfootchart.net (foot)