Until now, I thought merely eating chocolate
made me feel better.
While gobbling chocolate, honey and brown sugar is sure to destroy
my figure, when they were applied liberally to my skin by the
staff at The Spa, on Third Avenue at 88th Street in Bay Ridge,
I noticed an immediate improvement on the outside – and inside
– of this 30-year-old body.
The Spa’s friendly, expert aesthetician, Shalene, is quickly
gaining a reputation for innovative treatments that employ natural
ingredients to get to that beauty that’s hiding right behind
your furrowed brow and dry epidermis. Her Valentine’s Day chocolate-themed
treatments are so popular they are being extended through April.
When I turned up at The Spa’s doorstep after being stranded on
various subway platforms for over three hours in the blizzard
of the century, it was clear that Shalene had her work cut out
for her.
But after I had enjoyed a cup of jasmine tea in the recently
renovated spa, Shalene had a recipe to slough off the stressed-out,
dehydrated skin and put a shine on me from head to toe.
Shalene’s menu included a chocolate-raspberry scrub ($95) to
exfoliate, followed by a hydrating chocolate-honey mousse wrap
($95). For the face, Shalene explained that chocolate oil is
too strong to be applied to the skin, but the mouth-watering
effect can still be achieved by massaging the neck, shoulders
and arms with chocolate oil.
But what goes better with chocolate than roses? So for my fair,
newly wind-burned skin the prescription was a fruit enzyme peeling
treatment ($45), which uses pineapple, papaya and lemon to naturally
polish and brighten the skin, followed by a Matis "intensive
glow spa signature print mask" ($75), which employs soothing
rose water and rose-scented oil.
Shalene did warn me, however, that this much exposure to the
aroma of warm chocolate can give one cravings, so she leaves
chocolate kisses out for her clients when they return from their
post-scrub showers. (And – a hazard of the job – she confessed
that even she’s not immune to the power of cocoa, and must keep
a supply of chocolate milk on hand to satiate her own cravings.)
Raspberries are a natural antioxidant that help detoxify the
skin, explained Shalene, so she adds them to her scrub, a mix
of raspberry, chocolate and peppermint oils (as well as almond
and grape seed oils) and brown sugar.
She explained that using sugar instead of sea salts isn’t just
a novelty; the sugar is less abrasive than sea salts, which can
irritate freshly shaved legs or underarms, but is just as effective
at leaving a shiny finish.
Shalene acknowledges her scrubs are also just plain fun, so she
mixes them in front of the client.
While the raspberry and chocolate oil smells scrumptious, the
peppermint has the added, soothing benefit of clearing congestion
from a lingering cold.
After Shalene scrubbed me from shoulder to toe with wide massage
strokes, I was wrapped in plastic, covered in blankets and left
to dream of Charlie, the chocolate factory and the oompa loompas.
Then it was time for a quick unwrapping and the application of
a warm mixture of chocolate syrup and honey poured from a small
teapot and spread all over my body with a paint brush. Shalene
assured me that the honey would hydrate my skin. Surprisingly,
the mixture was not sticky or uncomfortable while I waited in
the wrap for the "mousse" to work its magic.
For those who want more chocolate with their chocolate, The Spa
offers a one-hour vanilla chip spa pedicure ($45), which combines
a milk and honey bath, vanilla beans, crushed almond scrub, whipped
mousse and a chocolate raspberry-oil massage for thoroughly refreshed,
scrumptious gams. The client can even request a dip in the heavenly
scented chocolate-coconut paraffin treatment (with shreds of
coconut just barely perceptible in the pink wax). The Spa also
offers Swedish massages with chocolate raspberry oil at no extra
charge.
Affordable packages of various chocolate treatments are available,
such as the two-hour Chocolate Mini-Melt ($109) and the four-hour
Chocolate Meltaway ($179).
While wrapped, Shalene began my fruit enzyme peeling treatment
and intensive glow facial. This was the best facial of my life
as she massaged my face with each step: cleansers, vitamin-enriched
oils, peeling treatment and more. (Even the extractions seemed
easier after the peeling treatment.) Then I was ushered off to
the showers to wash off the crazy mix of sugar and chocolate.
(Note: Bring your own shower cap if you don’t want wet locks
going home.)
Even the steam of the shower brought more clouds of comforting
chocolate-mint scent.
Then it was back to the towel-covered table for a final, 15-minute
rub down in chocolate-raspberry-mint oil and a heavy-duty moisturizer
for the face to rebuff the storm. The kneading massage on my
neck was akin to gently pulling a turtle’s head out of its shell.
Every last bit of tension was erased from each muscle and the
acupressure massage on my face even cleared my sinuses!
The Spa will be offering the whole gamut of chocolate treatments
through the end of April, when the change of season will inspire
Shalene to concoct new skincare recipes.
As I traveled home with a bright, buffed face, the scent of warm
chocolate and mint would occasionally waft out of my bulky coat,
and instead of a hardship, the falling snow seemed like an exquisite
gift.
For more information about The Spa,
see the Spa Directory.
