Axxium Manicure
$40–$44; removal without re-ap is $30
Let me start by saying I’m not a nail gal. Initially intrigued by the extensive menu of manicures at Simonson’s, I inquire after the hot stone and spa manis—each of which includes mini-massages, paraffin treatments and hot gloves—but am told that I at least had to check out this Axxium craze. Nail tech and educator Tracey Mildon walks me through the process. “This is my favorite manicure to do, because it just turns out so well and lasts so long,” she says. “It’s a polish that lasts at least two weeks,” and is applied in four or five coats. Simonson’s has been offering the service for just under a year, and offers a wide variety of the 50-some colors currently available from OPI.
The mani starts off like many I’ve had before: filing and reshaping of nails, buffing to help polish adhere, soft pushing of the cuticles back into their rightful positions. Then the clear base coat—thicker than most polishes; think clear gelatin, if you’ve ever attempted jello from scratch. This is followed by (in my case, because I love dark colors, Black Cherry Chutney) three coats of color and a top coat, each of which is followed up with two to four minutes under a mild UV lamp to set the polish.
My favorite part: A quick buff on a towel or sweater restores the vibrant glassy shine in seconds, even days after the application. Two weeks later I’m back at Mildon’s table, getting my re-ap (yep, I’m that hooked). There’s even a luxurious removal process: a mild acetone soak, lotions, paraffin and time in the warm mitts before starting the process again. “Axxium is great for businesswomen who have to travel and need that insurance of long-lasting color,” Mildon says. Or, I think, for a chronic nail-neglector like myself. —LH
Deal of the Month > The HydroPeptide Facial is one of the most efficacious face treatments at Simonson’s. Normally $100, owner Kyle Simonson’s offering a special price of $50 with the purchase of a HydroPeptide retail product. Mention this article during the month of February; limit one per guest.
Elemental Nature Manicure
$35
I’ve gotten a handful of manicures before, but they’ve all been pretty much the same—file, buff, polish, dry. My experience at New Reflections could not have been less like your typical manicure, and I have a feeling it’s the “elemental” in the name, something exclusively Aveda.
To start, senior nail technician Jayna Schuster offers me a warm neck wrap as we discuss what length and shape I’d like my nails to be. She then takes me on what New Reflections calls a sensory journey, allowing me to choose a scent, either calming or energizing, to later add to the lotion during the hand massage. Schuster carefully smoothes the ridges on my nails, pushing my cuticles back. Exfoliation with Aveda’s Smoothing Body Polish ($23 retail) is next, followed by the hydrating masque, which helps my dry hands retain moisture. After I choose my polish color from some 40-plus available at the spa, Schuster applies a base coat, two coats of OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark and a clear top coat. After the layers of polish have a chance to set, the last step is OPI Drip Dry ($11/0.5-oz. bottle), which makes my nails dry to the touch in 60 seconds without sitting under the dryer.
Although I secretly hope the manicure would go on forever, we conclude with a session in homecare education. I walk out with perfectly polished nails and, thanks to the energizing scent I selected, a little extra pep in my step. —MK
Deal of the Month: During February, receive a complimentary Aveda hand relief (travel size) with any manicure service (a $7.50 value). Valid at all three New Reflections locations, but not good with any other offer.
Massage Advantage
$49/hour, $39/half-hour
Located in the back of the clinic, the massage rooms at HealthSource of Plymouth are tranquil and modest. You might not realize that this top-notch chiropractic clinic is also home to Massage Advantage, offering a variety of relaxation and specialty massages including deep-tissue, full-body, Swedish, neuromuscular and customized care. Massage therapist Olga Fridlyand started my appointment by asking questions to customize the treatment.
During the massage I feel the tension I carry in my upper back and shoulders being released. At the end of the appointment, Fridlyand goes over which muscles were extra-tense and gives some recommendations about what I can do to relieve some of the tension myself.
It should be noted that the massages at HealthSource are some of the most affordable around. For members (there’s no charge for membership), a one-hour massage costs $49, while a half-hour massage costs $39. If you purchase six or more massages at the same time, you’ll receive $10 off the original price of each massage. Packages can also be shared with a friend and are redeemable at any Massage Advantage location. —CH
Makeup Party
Price varies; $30 for one-on-one daytime consultation/person
Who’s ever heard of a make-up party? Well we found out they’re not as uncommon as you might think. The girls at Christopher J Salon can customize pretty much anything to your specifications.
We walk in to prep for a girls’ night out (“we” being this writer and friends Sara, Emily, Dana and Carissa). Immediately we’re greeted by effervescent and energetic makeup artists Jessica Rilea and Tina Wherry who proceed to ask what we hope to get out of our experience. “A look to last us throughout the night,” we reply.
Even if you’re not having a “consult,” a party is a good opportunity to get the skinny on day-to-day application. Sara is very specific; she doesn’t like anything in the realm of pink. So when the lips go on a blush shade of rose, she’s nervous, and immediately Wherry talks her through the reasoning; turns out the pink is much more neutral than it originally appeared, and in the end Sara loves her color. The girls use a tinted moisturizer on Emily instead of foundation, because she never wears makeup. “Plums, reds, pinks and smoky eyes are your 2011 trends,” Rilea rattles off at one point, as if it’s her grocery list for the week. Rilea, a full-time esthetician devoted to make-up application, is a recent addition to Christopher J. “Having someone whose fully on-staff, fully trained and 100 percent committed to makeup and skincare completes us as a salon,” owner Jay Dupay says. (All parties always have at least two artists; part-timer Wherry has been employed by Dupay for 17 years.)
We walk away feeling pampered, to say the least. This is a super-customizable deal: You can bring in your own makeup, have a whole spa day with a mani/pedi, they’d even close the salon for you if your group encompassed enough people and enough services. But that costs more than $50. —KP
Acupuncture
$45/session
This was a first for me: a series of 22 pin-pricks within a half-hour’s time, all in a relaxing environment with soft flute music playing in the background and the scent of a soy-based candle wafting through my acutely aware senses.
Doctor of Chiropractic Jeff Wock (pronounced “woke”) has been applying acupuncture as a supplement to his clinical practice for the past eight years. This ancient Eastern practice has been honed and used throughout the centuries for everything from chronic pain to stress-relief to inducing labor. I opt to just rejuvenate my energy levels after a trans-Atlantic flight and all the catch-up work required to embark on such a journey.
Why a chiropractor’s office, you might ask? Simply put, we want to offer insight into acupuncture, and there are very few places in Plymouth to obtain the service. Take a step inside the strip mall that houses Lake West, and you’re transported to a cozy red room with soft music, vibrant and friendly reception staff, cool refreshments and a feeling that you are one of only two people the doctor will see all day. I’m guided back to the doctor’s office for my consult, which consists of him guessing correctly based on my paperwork that I’m stressed and could use a calming application, for which he recommends wires (a nicer way of saying “needling,” the most familiar form of applying acupuncture).
After a mini relaxation massage from one of the two chiropractic assistants/massage therapists employed by Dr. Wock—this isn’t something you’ll find complimentary in every chiropractor’s office—my personalized “recipe” of pressure points begins. I’m somewhat relieved to discover I can remain fully clothed throughout the process. As I sit, I contemplate the “sometimes side effects” the doc told me about but that I’m not experiencing—light-headedness, cold sweats, hot flashes, even nausea. Turns out my experience is incredibly calming. —LH
50-minute Signature Facial
$50
My first facial begins with a consultation, as all of LifeSpa’s facials do, where my esthetician Heidi Leistico asks me about my skin type and skincare regimen. She chooses a line of Phytomer products to purify and cleanse my skin during the subsequent steam facial. Rounds of Oligopur cleansing and toning gels ($28.50 and $30) are smoothed onto my face and neck, and carefully removed with a warm lavender-and-peppermint-soaked towel—if I was nervous at first, the relaxing aromas quickly put me at ease. Then Leistico applies the mask, which can be customized to treat specific areas of concern.
As the mask works its magic, she gives me a soothing massage, starting with my scalp and slowly working through the tension in my neck, shoulders, arms and hands. After the mask, she does a quick extraction to get rid of any impurities lingering on my skin, and finishes it off with Phytomer Purifying serum ($45). Both the facial and the massage leave me in such a blissed-out state that calling it a facial doesn’t even begin to do this relaxation service justice. —MK
Eye Rejuvenation and Lip Renewal
$24.95 each (nonmembers), $19.95
Walking into the serene and calming lobby at Massage Retreat, I have no idea what I’m in for. As I get prepped for my eye-rejuvenation and lip-renewal treatments, spa skin therapist Samantha Kohl explains the benefits I’m about to reap—exfoliation, cell renewal, repaired and hydrated skin. Especially attractive to all those sleep-deprived mothers, the eye rejuvenation treatment brightens and firms the skin around the eyes with medical-grade Dermalogica products comprised of all the good stuff—peptides, firming proteins and therapeutic vitamins. Kohl applies products that help exfoliate, firm, repair and then soothe the skin, practically erasing those pesky lines around my eyes and giving them a noticeably brighter, more-alert look.
Similar to the eye rejuvenation, the lip renewal is skincare bliss, perfect for those dry winter months. Kohl exfoliates the lip area to remove dead skin cells and applies hydrating products. After the treatment, I leave flaunting a fabulously smoothed, conditioned and restored smile. —CH
Deal of the Month: Deal of the Month: Receive a half-price eye zone or lip treatment with any 60-minute facial AND receive a free gift if it’s your first visit to Massage Retreat and Spa.
Nostril Wax: A Man’s Perspective
$10 special
Let me be clear: Prior to receiving this service, there is no way I would place myself in a salon after a long day of work with the prospect of having my fine nosehairs removed—if not for the fact that it is our anniversary and my wife asked me to. (Of course I too had noticed the trio of thin, protruding follicles that always seemed to stick perpendicular from the end of my right nostril.)
So at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday, I saunter into Simonson’s, where I meet with Robinn Amundson, the salon esthetician, and a warm cup of tea. First, she applies a coating of baby powder: “This keeps the wax from sticking to the skin and only clinging to the hair,” she explains. Internally, I’m balking. Certainly, there’s an easier way! But before I can protest, she’s got a tiny popsicle stick up my nose, applying a warm mixture she later says is a “hard” wax—when followed with another puff of baby powder, it sets, trapping the nose hairs like that mosquito in Jurassic Park was trapped in amber sap.
Then she pulls.
Many people have asked me how it was: “Didn’t it hurt?” they ask. “Surely there is no more sensitive area than the nose!” The truth is, it did pinch a little. For a second. But really it’s much less painful than even some eyebrow waxes, due to the uses of the hard wax. Not that I’d know anything about that; I’m just a guy giving his wife what she wants for our anniversary. —SH
Deal of the Month > For all those metrosexuals in our lives, be sure to ask about the men-you at Simonson’s, which includes all kinds of manscaping waxes, haircuts, massage, and even hand and foot treatments.
Cheater Foil
$40
With a spa that’s completely dedicated to hair care (well, almost, there’s the boutique and the nail center, too), we knew we were in for an unusual treat but weren’t exactly sure what would be new or unique about this particular salon that boasts 88 years of combined expertise—until we chatted with Colleen Blanck, owner and stylist at Luxe Hair Spa & Boutique. She starts rattling off the specialties—colors, foils, sets, cuts—and then mentions the cheater foil. I knew we had our story.
Blanck describes her cheater foil as the perfect “in-between” treatment—whether you’re freshening your face for an upcoming event (think wedding or holiday) or vacation. “I’ll get people who are on just week three of their six-week color, but who want to freshen up,” she says. I’m ready for just about anything, fresh or otherwise, and as we chat babies and politics, Blanck analizes my scalp. We decide on a mixture of chestnut and copper to add some darker, deeper, richer and reddish low-lights to my winter ’do. (The copper gives a little extra sheen to the look.) After letting the dry-application set—and perusing the unique gifts perfect for a mom stopping by from the adjacent neighborhoods that surround Oakwood Square—my cheater foil is rinsed out, and I’m that 17-year-old newbie again in awe of what a big difference just a little bit of color can make. —LH
Signature Pedicure
$39
I walk into Hair for All Seasons tasked to discover why this was the best pedicure in town, as so voted by our readers’ in Best of Plymouth 2010.
This is your “me” time. Don’t bring a friend, as you won’t see her. The service includes a foot soak, cuticle work, callous removal, relaxing massage, scrub, file and polish. I arrive surprised not to see little stations all in a row like you so often see in a salon; instead curtained-off cubicles offer a private and personalized experience. Nail-tech Erin Knosczynski is friendly and talkative, and I start in on my soak. Knosczynski asks if I want rounded or square nails, and I opt for a French pedicure, but you can get your choice of more than 100 OPI lotions and colors.
Next comes the scrub, and Knosczynski really goes to town with the file on the bottom of my feet. I go with the nude base (I don’t like that sparkly iridescent pink look). I’m again surprised to learn the nail techs don’t use dryers—with a quick-drying top coat, they don’t need them.
My professional opinion? Somewhere between the customizable treatment and the privacy of the experience lies the recipe for what many consider the best pedicure in Plymouth. —KP
