My dear Spa Weekers, it is I, Michelle Joni! Your trusty, intrepid Spalebrity EST 2009 (when I first began working with Spa Week). Please tell me you didn’t forget about me already! You didn’t, right!? Well, it’s only been a few months since I left Spa Week, but man, a lot can happen in just a few months. Mindsets shift, breakthroughs happen and the world opens up to you in ways you only could have dreamed. I believe that by living authentically and getting to know my true self, I have manifested this new role at Spa Week, where I’ll be chronicling my spa and wellness journey on this blog as Spa Week’s Editor-at-Large.  I will take you on a journey to discover not only a world of wellness at large, but also the beauty and bliss that lie deep and irrevocably within YOU.

It begins now. Check back each week for my column, and stay close! <3 @michellejoni

It all started with a pimple.

A stupid pimple! The night before my sister’s first-ever show at New York Fashion Week… of course this is the case. I’m sitting front row at TILLYandWILLIAM tomorrow at 6pm, I’m a Spalebrity for crying out loud… shouldn’t I have a magic wand for times like these?

Alright, Michelle think. First step: steam out your face in the sink, Russian banya style. Hair pulled back, headband on, washcloth in action. (Fifteen minutes later…) Done. Great, now what? I know. A mask.

I grab the ORIGINS Out of Trouble 10 Minute Mask to Rescue Problem Skin from the shower. I hope this works. Clay masks contain ingredients that draw out impurities embedded deep inside pores, and can be very effective for drying out pimples. I hurriedly begin to apply the mask in the mirror, but then…

I pause. Totally freeze. I glance up at myself in the mirror, horrified at my panicked, furrowed brow. Hey Michelle. Sup? I check in with myself and suddenly become aware of the situation, as if I am looking down at myself from above. I don’t like what I see, so I shift. I choose to exit panic mode as simply as exiting a building, and I smile. I choose to replace my furrowed brow with happy, laughing eyes. Nothing is actually bad! I giggle to myself. Everything is good. No, everything is wonderful.

I squeeze the mask gently from the tube, observing the cold, textured substance, drying quickly on my fingertips like clay in the desert. I make steady eye contact with myself in the mirror, and my smile grows bigger. Why would I rush through this moment when I can have a luxurious at-home spa experience instead? All I have to do… is choose it.

And so I do. I tune into the heightened tactile emotion between my fingers and my cheeks, as I tilt my neck back and glide my hand gently from chin to cheek bone. I transport my mind to a luxurious facial, sparkling with service and calmed by the scent of fresh lavender. I take in the clean and refreshing scent of my mask as I apply it artfully to my face. I let out a deep, delicious exhale.

Being luxurious is one of my favorite hobbies. There’s luxury in every moment—if only you can find it. Have to clean the house? Put on a soft, beautiful silk robe and do it gracefully. Find a deep stretch your lower back as you bend over to arrange your shoes. Smile and daydream about traveling as you wipe down the dishes, taking pride in that squeaky clean squeak. Don’t rush.

Why do you think children like to do play-chores when they play house? Because it’s PLAY. Playtime shouldn’t end when you reach adulthood… it’s just that play should be disguised as luxuriating, trying new things, and falling in love with every detail of your life.

So play I shall. I admire this cheeky, chalky mask on my face. I look like a Geisha, so I put on a silky, vintage, Asian-inspired robe passed down from my grandmother. I feel dainty and glamorous. I capture the moment with my iPhone.

Then, I spin. Not like a dreidel made out of clay– like a dreidel with clay on my face.

Remember when you were little and you’d spin in circles, and smiling lead to laughing, and you didn’t stop till you were about to fall over? I demand that sensation for adulthood! We should spin more.

And as a side note, what better way to help my Origins mask dry?

I get inspired—and I reach for my makeup case. Red lipstick looks pretty sultry on a bright white backdrop. Green eyeshadow because, well that’s what I’ve been into the past few weeks. I decorate with a white beaded necklace I bought in Asbury Park this past summer. Now this is fun.

Another part of playtime for me comes in the form of theatrics. The little girl inside is an actress at heart (do you know anyone else who played both Peter Pan AND King Lear in her prepubescence?) and so I begin to make faces.

How many different characters can I become with this one look? How many different feelings can I evoke in a series of photographs? How can I look dead sexy in a white clay mask?

Who says you can’t get props involved? Or filters?

This all happened in a matter of twenty minutes. Yes, I doubled the correct mask time but it was well worth it. After my photo free-for-all, I washed the mask off gently, moisturized, tucked myself into bed and slept like a baby. A glamorous spa vacation in my very own apartment.

Try it, I dare you! And please post or tweet me a picture if you do!

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