The Brooklyn Papers / Jori Klein

Face first: 119 Smith Street Spa owner and aesthetician Marzena Brzezinska gives a client a facial.

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Because of her flawless skin, aesthetician and 119 Smith Street spa owner Marzena Brzezinska is her own best advertisement for her new Boerum Hill spa.

"We really use good products here and I use them on myself - otherwise I’m not a good seller," said Brzezinska. "And I would only put good products on my own skin." 119 Smith Street Spa uses Dermalogica and GM Collin products in their treatments.

Brzezinska, 29, has been in the spa business for three years, while fellow aesthetician Margo Tomczyk has been poring over customers for seven. Both women agree that the most important aim of the new spa is to provide great skincare services for the neighborhood.

In fact, clients are asked to fill out a form before their service.

"That’s so we can keep track of when they come in, what they have done and which products are working," said Brzezinska. "I want to know what they like and how we can improve the place."

While the spa offers Swedish and deep-tissue massage, it’s clear by the sheer number of facials offered that those are the spa’s focus. Among the facials available are those to moisturize, relieve stress, deep clean and those customized for men. 119 Smith Street also offers masks for dehydrated or acne-prone conditions and two body treatments (aromatherapy body scrub and honey body scrub).

"This location used to be a nail salon, so we still offer nail services," Brzezinska said of the spa, which opened in November. "But we don’t offer acrylic, just natural spa nails."

The interior of 119 Smith Street achieves an airy quality with wicker accent pieces, blond wood floors and wood shelves. The three yellow and green treatment rooms have discreet curtains to separate them, handpainted murals of marsh reeds and candlelight. The only sounds were those of chirping birds and a quietly splashing miniature waterfall.

I elected to sample a balancing facial ($80) that Tomczyk customized to my needs. This facial incorporates a lymphatic drainage massage to improve skin texture, elasticity and tone.

To begin, Tomczyk tucked me into the treatment bed with a cozy fleece blanket. She cleansed, exfoliated, steamed, performed extractions, zapped (with her high-frequency wand that Tomzcyk says "closes the door" of the pores after extractions), masked and moisturized me.

While I was being steamed, Tomczyk massaged and moisturized my arms and hands and left my hands in tissues. (While this is a nice bonus, other spas up the ante by slipping client’s hands into heated mitts.)

After Tomczyk applied the mask, she put a warm compress on my forehead that felt as if it was melting my furrowed brow into a worry-free, smooth surface. She also applied a multivitamin cream on the sensitive skin around my eyes and mouth. While the mask was working, Tomczyk gave me a relaxing scalp massage.

During the treatment Tomczyk counseled me on how to combat dry skin from the inside out: drink more water and don’t be afraid to use a heavy moisturizer to form a barrier against winter winds. Tomczyk also advised against using water with extreme temperatures (neither too hot nor too cold) when cleansing my face in order to avoid broken capillaries.

Despite the serious business of caring for skin, the smiling Tomczyk clearly enjoys what she does and incorporates fun details where she can. She mixed chocolate raspberry oil into the massage lotion she applied to my face, but she can also apply essential oils like lavender or geranium if that’s what the client needs. (Tomczyk noted that the spa doesn’t skimp on the quality of its massage lotion in the face massages, as some spas do, but rather uses a cream that penetrates and benefits the skin.)

In her arsenal, Tomczyk says she has 15 different moisturizers and 10 different masks, so she can truly customize a facial to a client’s needs.

"Whatever we use, we want it to penetrate the skin," she explained. "We don’t want to put product on the skin and just wipe it off.

"Whatever we use, I have to be positive it will work."

See Spa Directory for more information about 119 Smith Street Spa.

©2005 The Brooklyn Paper