I Feel Fabulous

Not only is it a gorgeous Friday, but today was a special treat... SPA DAY!

I almost managed to take a whole day off of work. I did stop in for about an hour, but kept with my breezy, day off attitude and casual-wear anyway. The best line of the day... CG's "Jeans Stefanie is not a Stefanie I know!" After sitting outside at lunch to soak up some sun, I headed over to Dupont Circle to fully embrace Spa Day.

The Spa
Thanks, everyone, for your recommendations on places to go. I decided to try Skin Savvy Express Spa, very conveniently located on Connecticut just below Florida. That's about a 20 minute leisurely walk from my place, which is key. And since I was going for both a facial and a massage, price was a factor, so the "express spa" experience fit well into the budget.

The spa is on the third floor of an office building right near Timberlake's. Since I was already running a little late, I had to hoof it up all of those stairs. Which means that I walked into this new place stressed and a little out of breath. But that soon went away...

The place is pretty darn small, with just two treatment rooms and a small waiting area. The biggest downfall of the small place was that you could hear the people talking in the reception area when you were getting your treatments in either room. So it kind of breaks that mood at times. There were a lot of staff there - 2 receptionists, a manager, and the masseuse and aesthetician. So the waiting room was crowded, but it had lots of cute stuff to look at... candles, products, a tray with water and snacks for clients. Luckily I didn't have to wait long (more on that later), so I started in on my facial pretty quickly. Grade: B.

The Facial
I haven't had a facial in a really long time, and I was a little nervous about it cuz I have sensitive skin and sometimes have bad reactions. But this was really great! For starters, she had my lay down on a heated table that instantly took some of the ache out of my lower back. I've never had a laying-down facial before, they've always been sitting up in a chair. This was the 30-minute Express Facial and that was the perfect amount of time for me. She did all kinds of cleansing and cooling stuff, and those hot cloths felt fabulous. My favorite part was anytime that she'd turn the steam onto my face. As someone with sinus problems, breathing that in feels like heaven. After some scrutiny, she told me I have combination skin, which has been the case my whole adult life. Dry, sensitive cheeks, and a good old oily T-zone. So she decided to do a purifying mask on my T-zone and then a hydrating mask on my cheeks. They both seem to have done the trick, cuz my skin looks great. I liked that she was talking to me about what she was doing, but didn't ask too many personal questions to try and chat. I'm not big on chatting in this scenario. Overall, I was really happy with the facial and my skin looks really clear and feels really soft. Grade: A.

Intermission
Remember how I said I didn't have to wait long? Well, apparently there was another woman there who had been waiting over an hour for her massage. It sounds like they had some scheduling problem and maybe were overbooked, or maybe she didn't have an appt or something. After I finished my facial, they had me change into the robe and then move to the small waiting area outside of the massage room. She saw this and was pissed. She started to cause a little ruckus nad kept saying "why does SHE (me) get to go now? I've been here an over an hour. I should go before HER (me)." I felt bad if she really had been waiting that long, but really, since I was the one all naked and oily and she was fully dressed, I'm glad they made me the priority. She was fighting with them about discounts and I don't know how they resolved it, cuz she left. But I didn't care that much, cuz I was sitting in a vibrating chair. Wowza. How do I buy one of those for my apartment?

The Massage
Complaining woman aside, they kept me right on schedule and I went in for my massage at 1:30 on the dot. My funny aside was the thought, as I was getting ready for the massage, that there's not much out there that is LESS sexy than trying to get yourself situated, naked, facedown with your face in that donut thing. It must look terrible to a fly on the wall! This is my 4th massage in a year now, and it's been interesting to see how different people use very different techniques. The masseuse was this tiny little woman and I kept thinking "she is never gonna be able to dig in deep enough for me." But she did! I asked her to focus on my lower back as the top priority, followed by my neck and shoulders. She didn't do the lower back as well as some other people I've had, but she was really great on working out my neck and shoulders. She pushed really deep - I believe elbows were involved - and my upper body hasn't felt this loose in a long time. She was also muhc harder on my leg muscles than I'm used to. It's funny, I never realized how tight your calves and thighs can get until I started getting massages. I was disappointed that she didn't do the arm/hand massage that I usually get, one of my favorite things, but I guess you can only fit in so much in an hour. Overall, this wasn't the best massage I've ever had (that was at the Luxor Spa in Vegas), but it was pretty good. Grade: B+.

The Bill
Aha, here's where the Express Spa part becomes key. A 30-minute facial, an hour-long massage, plus a generous tip = $150. That's hard to beat! Grade: A.

So, it looks like I give the experience about an A- overall. I will most likely be going back!