The Spa Travellers Diary

I am one of those people with wavy hair, not quite curly and not straight that tends towards the dry side. I am one of the many who spends hours on Naturally Curly dot com searching out that magic bullet product that will smooth, defrizz and curl. I am constantly on the look-out for hair products that will moisturize, condition and encourage curl not frizz, otherwise my hair will look like one of those "Before" pictures in anti-frizz adds.

It was time for a "Few Good Friends" to cut loose after a hard day at work so we hurried uptown for a pedicure package offered by the students at George Brown College.

The Spa Travellers recommend trying the hot stone pedicure.  This luxury treatment starts with smooth, heated stones placed between your toes followed by having your calves massaged gently with larger heated stones.  This treatment encourages deep relaxation and helps reduce puffiness and water retention held in the feet.  It brought us back to a time before responsibilities.

You could also have a paraffin wax.  This is very warm wax poured into a pair of booties supplied by the school (see picture below).  If you suffer from very cold feet in the winter, I will guarantee you will leave warmed up.  The wax is designed to take away dry feet and/or cracked heals.  Feet are left feeling soft and smooth.

George Brown offers the following nail and pedicure treatments:  Manicure, French Manicure (American), Manicure with Paraffin Wax, Spa Manicure, Nail Polish Change, Hot Stone Pedicure, Pedicure (incl. file and slippers), Spa Pedicure - Exfoliation and Mask (incl. file), Hot Stone Pedicure (incl. file and slippers), Nail Enhancement (Full Set), Re-balance.

We suggest that you try more than one treatment for the evening.  A basic pedicure is only $15.00.  Any add-on is $5.00 extra.  Everyone can afford to pamper themselves no matter your budget.  The school offers affordable treatments with a professional atmosphere using top notch products.

Finally, our feet were massaged with a choice of one of many scented creams and we each chose our own polish colour from the Essie and Creative Nail Polish lines which were all unique to our individual mood.  

We all hung ten!

Hygiene is the utmost of consideration so we each left with our toe nail file for home touch ups.

All Services by Appointment Only, call (416) 5000, Ext. 4070.

The Nuxe line is owned by a women chemist and entrepreneur in Paris, France. Her name is Aliza Jabes.  She purchased an existing pharmaceutical company in 1989 and since then, has worked to develop this line of products.  Her philosophy is to produce gentle, natural formulas that reduce the signs of aging without causing irritation.

The Nuxe Creme Fraiche Moisturizing Balancing Emulsion for combination skin is an unprecedented combination of eight plant milks and four balancing essential oils with a natural anti-stress fragrance.  Nuxe claims that skin is rebalanced and rehydrated with a refined texture and a perfect matte appearance. 

This product was tested by me for a period of just over two weeks in the dead of winter in Canada. 

Creme Fraiche is scented, which I would describe as a meadow flower scent, nothing overly perfumed.  The scent reminds me of when I was a child running through a meadow in summer.  Not normally a person who seeks a scented cream, I can confirm that once the product quickly sinks into the skin, the scent dissipates completely.   There is no lingering smell that irritated me, which I am happy to report.

 

When using this cream in winter with harsh blowing winds, it would work best in conjunction with an added serum before bed.  It would probably be great alone as a summer moisturizer.  For those people who have combination skin and do not wish a heavy scent, I would recommend this line.

The Nuxe line can be purchased at the Bay and selected Shopper's Drug Mart boutiques. The suggested retail price is $39.00.

The Spa Travellers recently attended a makeover and photo shoot event hosted by Estee Lauder.  Over the next few months, Estee Lauder will be continuing the event this spring at various locations at the Bay throughout Toronto.  It was a wonderful opportunity as each customer was treated to a makeover and a profile picture at the Estee Lauder Counter.  We attended the first event which took place at Holt Renfrew at 50 Bloor Street West in Yorkville, downtown Toronto.  It was a chance to be treated like a movie star for the day.

 It did not stop there!  We were then ushered in front of a photographer where she expertly posed us for our two picture shots.  It was a party atmosphere all around.

And, its not too late!  Estee Lauder's next social networking event takes place in Toronto at The Bay at the Fairview Mall, 1800 Sheppard Avenue East on Saturday, April 10, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  You can book an appointment by calling (416) 491-2010 to reserve your spot.  This event will also include a 10 day supply of your ideal foundation.

You can also catch them at Yorkdale on April 24, 2010 and at The Bay at Yonge and Bloor on April 29, 2010.

We were thrilled with the results and had a great time doing it.  We would like to thank Beth Zurn, Senior Vice-President for organizing this event!

On a bright, sunny and extremely cold Saturday a few weeks ago, your intrepid Spa Travellers made a road trip to visit Saltridges, located in the scenic town of Burlington on Lake Ontario, about an hour's drive outside of Toronto. The main purpose of our trip was to buy Lipstick Queen lipsticks as, unfortunately, Lipstick Queen do not ship from their on-line store to Canada. Luckily for us, in our search for lipstick, we discovered this delightful shop filled with all manner of niche lines of make-up, perfume, body products, and home fragrance. The store sells only natural products which made us extremely happy and made it even more of a find.

We continued through the store oohing and ahhing, testing, and sniffing all the wonderful lines.  There were products from all over the world, Terre from Italy, based on glacial mud, Juara from Indonesia based on botanicals like rice, tamarind and candelnut oil.  There was Coola, a range of organic suncare products for body and face.  Belli for mothers to be and their babies, products formulated by a medical doctor. Lalicious body creams and scrubs.  There was a wonderful smelling hand sanitizer by Jao with lavender, eucalyptus and tea tree oils. There were Hourglass cosmetics, Geisha Ink from Japan, an entire section of men's products, a section of home fragrances and candles, and finally, last but not the least, we made our way to the display for Lipstick Queen.  By this time we were a little in overwhelm but we still managed to swatch Saint lipsticks, Sinner lipsticks, and Butterfly Ball, so many decisions to be made and so little time.

All good things must come to an end and after spending more than 2 hours in product heaven, it was time to pay for our [many] purchases and say our goodbyes.

Our purchases were packaged in tissue with gold cherubs and these stylish red bags, made from recycled products, which seemed to sum up the essence of Saltridges - beauty with a conscience.

If you would like to have as much fun as we had, contact Saltridges for directions by telephoning: 1-905-333-5959.

I am enjoying using both these nourishing products from the Nuxe Reve de Miel range as a pick me up for the winter blahs.  As with all Nuxe products, they contain no parabens or chemical ingredients.   They are formulated using honey, lime blossom and plant oils. The Foaming Bath and Shower Gel smells wonderful and I use it for a relaxing bath or as a shower gel. Either way, it leaves my skin feeling nourished and softly scented.  The Reve de Miel Gentle Shampoo is a wonderful all purpose shampoo.  As my hair tends to be dry, I use it with the Huile Prodigieuse and put a little oil in my hair as a treatment followed by the shampoo, or if I am in a hurry, I use the shampoo first and use a little of the Huile Prodigieuse as a leave in treatment.