Romy Raves

I don’t know about you, but I am always conflicted on Mother’s Day about how to best spend it: “Is this my day, a day of celebrating motherhood as I wish with my own family?” or “Is it it the day to focus on and celebrate my own mother?” Can you relate? It’s a tough choice no matter how you slice it. So this year, I came up with an inspired way to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom and make it really special without impacting my special day thanks to Burke Williams!

During a recent visit to my local Burke Williams in Sherman Oaks, I noticed that they were offering a fabulous Mother/Daughter Special Package in honor of Mother’s Day and suddenly a light bulb went off in my head: I would invite my mom to come up from Palm Springs and share a special spa day with me at Burke Williams, a week before mother’s day (show mom a slice of my beauty bloggin’ life ) My mom was more than delighted by this special invitation!

Here’s what the Special Mother/Daughter Experience Gift Card includes:

• Both Mother & Daughter each receive a pampering Spa Pedicure
• Each also has her choice of  either a 50-minute Burke Williams Massage or Spa Style Facial with a peel
• Use of all spa facilities
• Relaxation and Mother/Daughter bonding time
• Cost: $275 (valued at $360) and a priceless experience together
• This special gift card package is available for purchase until Mother’s Day May 13, 2012, but you can use it whenever you would like at your convenience

Now, let me tell you all about the fabulous day I shared with my mom and why we have decided to make it an annual tradition! My mom was like a giddy school girl as we arrived at Burke Williams because we were spending this special time together and she hasn’t been to a spa in years

Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly and whisked back to the gorgeous, serene and relaxing Women’s Spa. I did note the pleasant music that was playing in the background as well as a calming signature scent (lavender with a hint of citrus I think) that they had wafting throughout the spa (I love when spa’s have this added touch because I really think it anchors the experience in your memory.) We immediately changed into our yummy & snuggly oversized robes

And we started our treatments right off the bat. We both opted for massages, although I decided to upgrade to the deep tissue massage because I carry so much tension in my neck and shoulders (computer work will do that to you) that a relaxing massage doesn’t do the trick. We both LOVED our male masseuses! My mom said her massage was perfect and sooooo relaxing and my masseuse (Michael) had the most amazing strong hands, he got into every one of my knots and went consistently deep enough to get rid of my tension (which is no easy task!) This was truly one of the best massages I have ever had, he had the perfect touch and it paved the way for an uber relaxing day. In all honesty, I usually have low expectations when it comes to spa massages and this one truly blew me away!

After we were kneaded into mush by our fab masseuses, my mom and I enjoyed some relaxing time in the jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. The Women’s spa is so clean (I noted that someone was always cleaning up the space in some way & I liked that) and beautiful we just loved it. I also noted and appreciated that there were attendants constantly on hand to attend to our every need. After we were steamed and relaxed, we headed to the quiet room for some further unwinding. My mom fell asleep and I was engrossed in Fifty Shades of Grey (steamy & FAB). I totally chilled out and read for about 45 minutes in the serene quiet room and my mom ordered a lovely lunch which they coordinated for her.

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Calling all Beauty Luvahs, have you heard the news? National Spa Week 2012 is taking place next week April 16-22, 2012 and all treatments are ONLY $50, WOOT! WOOT! Spa Week is the largest and most anticipated spa event in North America since 2004 and many of the nation’s top spas select some of their best signature treatments for you to experience at a significantly reduced rate, which makes pampering much more affordable and accessible to all, love that! And all that you have to do to take advantage of the amazing $50 treatments is go to www.SpaWeek.com, search for spas in your area, and then call the spa directly to book your appointment.

Well, I confess that I have the best job in the world because I get to test drive all these amazing spa treatments and services and share my experiences with you, so I was delighted when Spa Week reached out and told me that a local Thai Massage Spa had requested that an influential LA beauty blogger come in and try their signature service before Spa Week and they picked me! I was especially excited because I have heard amazing things about Thai Massage for years but have never had the opportunity to try one.

Before I tell you all about my amazing experience, I wanted to give you a little background on Thai Massage. Traditional Thai Massage dates back more than more than 5,000 years to ancient India and China incorporating elements of Ayeurvedic medicine, Hatha yoga and Chinese acupressure. Thai Massage is a unique healing art that combines gentle yoga-like stretching with massage of the muscles, pressure points and energy lines to release tension, relieve aches and pains, detoxify the internal organs and improve circulation. A typical Thai Massage is performed on a floor mat which  allows the practitioner to get the body leverage necessary for the stretches and postures performed. An authentic Thai massage normally takes 90 minutes because it is a holistic approach that incorporates a series of integrated, sequenced postures designed to relax and heal the body.

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OK SoCal Beauty Junkies, you are in for a real treat because DermStore.com, the widely popular dermatologist-backed online store, opened its first ever flagship store in Hermosa Beach today! DermStore has quickly become the leader in luxury skin care, beauty, and cosmetics online with more than 620 brands and over 23,000 products to choose from, and new luxury brands added monthly.

This exciting new brick and mortar flagship store and spa is located just steps away from the Hermosa Pier and it will carry an expansive selection of retail beauty products that consumers have come to love about DermStore. Plus, in addition to being a fabulous place to buy the latest beauty products, the flagship store will have three hair styling chairs so that you can indulge in wonderful hair treatments as well as two modern and well appointed  treatment rooms that will offer state-of-the-art spa services featuring treatments from Decleor, Eminence, Phytomer, YonKa, Dermalogica, Guinot and Thibiant. This new retail store will also be used to test products before they hit the market as well as a location for photo and video shoots.

I was thrilled to get a sneak peak of the store a week before the opening and was very impressed with the chic modern space, the very desirable pedestrian location, the wonderful selection of cult fav beauty brands, and most importantly the top notch service and treatment that I received.  I was treated to the Yonka Le Grand Classique Facial because, according to my savvy esthetician, my skin was both dehydrated and had noticeable pigmentation. This indulgent facial is customized to meet your skins needs and uses the wonderfully aromatic Yonka products to awaken the senses as well as treat your skin’s problems. Yonka holds a special place in my heart because the aromatherapeutic smells bring me right back to my first facials as a teenager, while at the same time using active modern ingredients that truly deliver results.

Here’s a recap of my customized Yonka facial: My esthetician cleansed my skin, did a wonderful gommage (exfoliation), steamed my face, performed the necessary extractions, gave me a fabulous relaxing face and upper body massage, and used two different masks to target my pigmentation. This was by far my favorite part because I could feel it working! The first mask was a moderate glycolic/fruit acid peel that felt a little tingly and gently got rid of the the top layer of skin in preparation of the fabulous pigmentation lightening mask that she applied with gauze over it to make removal very easy. While the mask did it’s magic, she gave me a delightful hand massage, then removed the mask, applied Yonka moisturizer, eye cream and sunscreen. And as an added bonus at the end when I sat up, she put a warm moist towel on my upper back and shoulders kinda like a warm hug to finish it all off.

My skin was luminous and glowing, and it looked so FAB that I had an event later that night and opted to wear my hair back with a chic headband and very little makeup, so that I could really showcase my gorgeous skin. It happened to be a beauty event that evening and many people commented on how amazing my skin looked, what do you think?

DermStore Flagship Store 1316 Hermosa Beach Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. Open seven days a week 10am-8pm. Call 310.526.0008 to book an appointment. Mention Romy Raves to get 20% off all treatments through the end of April 2012

Disclosure: DermStore invited me into their store for the soft opening and to receive a facial. All opinions and glowing skin are my very own.