Balance and Beauty at Petite Spa Santa Monica

Since moving back to LA and realizing that I might be in this city for a little while, I've yet to find a spa that I could regularly run to for a day of soothing T.L.C... Until now! Thanks to a promo from FreshGuide (a site run by PopSugar), I spent my Sunday getting pampered by the sweet Yvonne at Petite Spa in Santa Monica. Located at the corner of Broadway and Lincoln, the spa is easy to spot on Broadway and free street parking was a breeze to find on a quiet Sunday morning. I was happy to walk in and discover right away that the spa itself was welcomingly cozy. One of the key things I look for is ambiance and it was nice to see that although the spa really is "petite" in size, there was no lack of comfort and attention. The spa features a small waiting area and four private rooms. Unfortunately, there is no separate locker/changing room, but the treatment room was more than enough for me with its soft bed, heating pad, and plush blanket.

View of the waiting area, complete with plush chairs and pretty lavender walls.

I was welcomed with a warm cup of Yogi Chai Tea. Yum.

So let's get to the real stuff. The spa's mission statement reads: Petite Spa's concept is to bring balance and beauty through nature and good intentions to all! I was excited to see what the spa's line of Eminence, Epicuren, and Dr. Alkaitis products had to offer. Thankfully, the FreshGuide promo I purchased gave me the freedom to choose up to $120 worth of spa services so there was no skimping on the treatments I received! My esthetician, Yvonne, was so easy to talk to and had some very helpful suggestions to my current skincare routine. I picked the Organic Skin Food Facial as a base starter since it was recommended for sensitive skin and aimed at delivering "vibrant, hydrated, purified and glowing sking." Ummm, yes pleaseeee. 

My skin has been going crazy lately due to the weather change and newbie work stresses so Yvonne really honed in on clearing up the congestion via some oh so painful (but satisfying) extractions. Although not the most fun part of facials, I am in the group of people that believes that it is an essential way of really getting a clean face... and clean face I got from it! After attacking my pores, she then spread on an enzyme mask for some extra cleaning, an AHA treatment for extra exfoliation, and paprika mask to soothe the redness. The best part of all this was the arm, shoulder, and foot massages--pure, enjoyable bliss as the products worked on my face. Although my skin was pretty red from the extractions, Yvonne helped me apply some light mineral make-up so that I could actually still go out for the rest of the day. My favorite part of the visit besides the obvious glowing and smooth skin? How completely sweet and non-pushy Yvonne (and everyone else was). I'm guilty of being easily swayed into buying one too many products after salon/spa visits and it was such a relief that aside from some genuine recommendations for products based on my skin issues, she didn't guilt me into actually buying any of them. In fact, I voluntarily requested the moisturizer she used on me because the consistency and texture were exactly what I've been looking for. There have definitely been times where I've been completely turned off from a good spa experience due to the aftermath of pushy sales so I was very happy to find that this was not the case at Petite Spa!

I purchased the Acne Cleanser ($19) and Propolis Lotion ($35) after experiencing how gentle and light the formulations are.

The Epicuren Discovery line has been featured in a variety of press as a celeb favorite (Kate Bosworth credits it as the secret to her perfect skin in this month's Lucky). Centered around an enzyme activated technology, the line is only sold in approved salons and cannot be ordered online. Since the products are not quite widely available, it was hard to find some real customer reviews, but Makeupalley does have a few for the cleanser I purchased. I thought the $19 for a little pricey for a small 2 oz. bottle of cleanser, but figured it was worth a shot. The consistency is a thickish gel that suds up with some water (and smells amazing). The Propolis Lotion was a must for me because it feels just like a smooth gel (similar to the Clinique Dramatically Different Gel that I really like). Plus at $35, I thought this was pretty comparable to the price I've paid in the past for 1.7 oz. facial moisturizers. I will be sure to give an update on how these products work out for me!

After getting the chance to visit Petite Spa, the number of 5-star reviews on Citysearch and Yelp doesn't surprise me one bit. If you're looking for a comfortable and intimate spa with targeted skincare and attention, check out Petite Spa. They're open 7 days a week and offer all the right amenities for a relaxing visit. New clients receive 10% off. Facials are an expensive beauty upkeep (60 minute base facials at Petite Spa start at $90), but are definitely worth the results for those with more troubled skin. I will definitely be back and highly recommend anyone else looking for an esthetician to stop by!

Clarisonic Brush Sales Galore

While in NYC, I tried Janice's Clarisonic brush and am hooked! As expensive as it is, I have never really thought of getting one before actually seeing it in action. Gentle and easy as ever to use (read more on her skin regimen), I couldn't help but order one of my own right away! I opted for the new Mia for its smaller handle size and lower price. With an additional 20% off from Skinterra, I also purchased the Delicate Brush head to minimize any irritation the brush might cause. The store is currently offering 20% off and free shipping on all Clarisonic products until April 30.

Another one of my favorite beauty sites, Beautychoice, is offering 25% off its Clarisonic stock. Although their inventory is more limited to the regular and plus versions, the PLUS Bundle is an amazing deal ($131 after promo savings). I wish I would've seen this before I ordered my brush! Use promo code: SONICGHD312 until April 20.

Janice's skin absolutely glows now and I want mine to as well! At her suggestion, I also ordered the Acne.org AHA+ and definitely love it more than the Alpha Hydroxy Souffle that everyone raves about--we ordered these back in school and my skin never adapted to the grainy cream. After more than 2 months of using the souffle, my skin tone and texture didn't improve at all, and the cream was just too harsh to continue using. I haven't tried any other AHA's since. Hopefully with my new spiffy Clarisonic brush and AHA treatment, I can be as diligent and careful as Janice so that I can finally get rid of those pesky post-acne marks.

Drinking Rooibos Tea for Skin Issues

I've tried an infinite number of treatments for acne, from oral to topical, prescription and over-the-counter. Less is more, and the best solution is probably to leave my skin alone, but I'm always tempted by the promises that a new cream makes, such a sucker for good marketing. Lately though, I've been intrigued and researched into a more holistic approach to attacking some of my skin issues, and discovered a few things along the way.

Physical symptoms reflect unhealthiness of the body, whether it be be coughing from a cold, or in my case, breakouts from some sort of stress/junk food eating/hormonal imbalance. I do think that when a person doesn't eat correctly, doesn't exercise regularly (totally guilty), and is continuously under stress, the body buckles under the external forces and acts out. So the solution is to be good to yourself, starting with diet and the food that we intake.

Recently, I stumbled upon a thread that hailed rooibos tea (from South Africa, also called "redbush tea") as an effective liquid with lots of cleansing antioxidants to move toxins out of the body. More importantly, all ingredients are natural and rooibos is caffeine-free! A company called Republic of Tea produces a series of Be Well teas, with all sorts of tea mixes for different health issues. The one I was interested in was Get Gorgeous, but they also have Get Smart, Get Lost (for weight loss), Get Passionate (to increase the libido!), Get Focused, etc. You get the idea. After I read several pages of reviews with multiple people claiming benefits from drinking this tea, I ran across the street to GNC and picked up a can, which has 36 individual teabag.

The instructions are to drink 3-4 teabags a day, and this is easier than it sounds. I drop two teabags into my thermos as my morning beverage in lieu of coffee (caffeine aggravates acne, so do dairy products!) and refill twice throughout the day, and have another mug-full at night before bed. Since it's caffeine free, I don't worry about insomnia! The taste is fine, I like tea so it tastes regular to me, but sometimes I add a little honey to sweeten.It could be the tea, or it could be the huge amounts of water I'm ingesting daily now relative to before, but I have found that the tea works to calm my skin down. I'm also starting a new (simple!) skin regimen so that's in the mix also, but I'm not stopping this tea anytime soon! Hoping that a greener diet and drinking this tea and more water in general can encourage clearer skin! I ordered 3 more cans from GNC when they had a sale last week, but these are also available directly from Republic of Tea in bulk. Also, I'm sure any rooibos tea would work and have the same cleansing qualities, but I like this one since it also has chamomile, orange peel, and burdock root.

Just checked GNC and they're having a 1-day sale today, 25% off plus free shipping!!!! *Checks out with three more cans*

Another easy cleansing tip to detox - drink water with lemon! Lemon has amazing antiseptic qualities that filter out toxins in your system and balances out acidity with its alkalizing ability. I squeeze half a fresh lemon's worth of juice into a glass of hot water in the morning, and also ask for lemons at restaurants to drink with a meal. When mixed with hot water, lemon is said to calm upset stomachs and aid digestion, along with other detoxifying benefits. Drink up!

LUSH Brazened Honey Mask

I love Sundays! Besides the fact that they're officially dubbed my "lazy days", they're also my beauty "freshen-up" days. After slacking off on my regime during the week due to fatigue, I always make sure to save some time on Sunday to tend to what I've missed out on. One of the essential skincare items that I absolutely cannot (and should not) do without is a face mask. After a tough past few weekends, I've missed a few Sundays here and there and have definitely seen the difference. Applying a face mask is unlike any other way to pamper, soothe, and treat one of our most important features!

I actually ran out of my Fresh Umbrian Clay mask and have been debating whether or not to repurchase it. It's been great at controlling my breakouts and calming my skin, but not great enough to warrant the $48 price tag. Always on the lookout for a fun new mask to try, I figured I could definitely find something else... and something else I did find!

I stopped by the Beverly Hills LUSH store after grabbing brunch today and stumbled upon their fresh bar of concoctions. LUSH offers tubs of freshly made face masks aimed at a variety of skin remedies. I felt like each mask spoke to me in a different way and it took quite a while to decide on the Brazened Honey mask. Aimed at exfoliating and brightening tired skin (goodbye dull skin!), the added promise of tightening pores was just a bonus feature that sold me. This product reminds me a lot of the Mario Badescu Almond & Honey Scrub (which I LOVE) that I have so often dabbed on as a calming mask. However, since this is actually formulated to act as a mask, it also had the kick of really cleaning out my pores. Like with the MB scrub, I scrubbed my face beforehand while applying it and then again, by mixing the dried mask with warm water while removing it. After a quick 15 minute application, my face felt soft, smooth and balanced (not too dry and not too oily). Some people have said that the thick consistency of the product has made it difficult to apply, but I didn't find any problems with this at all. It was a little tough to remove since it's so chunky, but I like that I could really massage it around my face while taking it off.

Since they're made free of preservatives, each $5.95 tub is supposed to last 2 weeks. I've been reading reviews and customers claim that they've been able to use the masks up to a month since the products are kept refrigerated. This makes more sense since there's way too much product to use up that quickly so we'll see how good it stays into the month. Since I picked up the BB Seaweed mask as well, I'm probably in for some trouble in finishing both up within the month--I got too excited and didn't think this through at the time.

As an added plus, for every 5 containers you return to the store for recycling, you get one free mask of your choice! I think this will definitely keep me coming back for more. Other notable items to purchase (per my best friend who's obsessed with LUSH): Coalface Cleanser, Ocean Salt Cleanser, and any of their solid shampoo bars (which are equal to 3 bottles of 250ml shampoo bottles!). I've officially discovered another beauty obsession. Eeeeek.