Bored and sharing a bottle of wine, my roommate and I were discussing our favorite spa facials when my patient boyfriend sitting nearby just couldn’t take it anymore. “You both are young and beautiful!” he shouted with an anger that typically doesn’t accompany such a sweet sentence. “Stop worrying about wrinkles and laser treatments and Retin A, B and C!”
Easy for him to say. The both of us are turning 30 next month and while the idea of a spa day was the perfect reprieve from our busy schedules, it was also an opportunity to do a little damage control. Late nights, aforementioned wine therapy, stressful jobs and (gulp) the occasional cigarette are the pains and, oh fine, pleasures of my life. So when I heard Guerlain Spa in the Waldorf Astoria was revamping, my dilemma over what to gift myself for diving into a new decade was solved.
I don’t find myself at the Waldorf Astoria too often so even the journey to the 19th floor spa felt decadent. Soothing classical music, delicious smelling candles, white-splashed walls accented by crystal chandeliers…you get the picture. I was escorted into my own hotel suite (literally, the room had a private bathroom, shower and full closet) and slipped into a plush robe. Now this is living, I thought as I raised a glass of complimentary bubbly to no one in particular.
Guerlain Spa boasts 15 treatment rooms and a menu including body treatments, skincare, facials and hydrotherapy. My 30-minute microdermabrasion treatment was quick, painless and left my skin surprisingly blotch-free. The device used is essentially a tiny vacuum wand that sucks up the hard layer of…stuff…that never seems to come off no matter how much scrubbing you do. Post-suction, my esthetician lathered on some mystery potions (Guerlain, natch) and offered a complimentary makeup touch up.
Refreshed and renewed, I gathered my things with a small tinge of disappointment knowing I was leaving the lavish life behind to hit the chaotic streets and brisk chill of Park Ave. “Wait, miss!” I heard as my finger hit the elevator button. “I forgot to tell you,” said Livia, my esthetician, slightly out of breath. “Don’t wash your face tonight. Let the serums and lotions sink in for as long as you can.”
“I probably have $500 worth of product in my pores now, right?” I said with a smirk, to which Livia retorted with a hearty laugh. “Much more than, miss.”
Maybe I could take a piece of the good life home with me after all…
For booking info, visit guerlainspas.com or call 212.872.7200.
Disclosure: Some services were provided free of charge by Guerlain Spa
