Williamsburg is already a place full of
trendy bars and clubs to see and be seen in on a Saturday night.
The hot neighborhood also plays host to a bevy of cool clothing
boutiques to outfit your night out. Now, new businesses are moving
in to make sure that the beauty of the locals is, indeed, skin
deep.
Self-described "Director of Wellness" Melaina Ulino
(bottom left) opened the DownTime Spa (115 North Seventh St.
between White and Berry streets) in Williamsburg on June 6. Ulino,
who grew up in Park Slope and Bay Ridge, has logged more than
20 years in the beauty business. She also owns Salon 123 in Manhattan.
"This opportunity came along," said Ulino, "and
Williamsburg is so hot and up and coming – I looked into it and
I ran with it." Ulino’s spa is the second to arrive in the
neighborhood, with the Therapy store and spa having opened at
115 Grand St. at Berry Street last fall.
Ulino’s 2,500-square-foot spa has a backyard and mezzanine, and
she plans to build out the 2,000-square-foot basement.
Currently DownTime offers the Italian Peauvive line of products
for its facials and other spa treatments.
"Everybody is into this stuff," Ulino said about the
popularity of spas. "Everyone – whether they’re 20 to 45
or 50 – is into well being. Especially the baby boomers. I’m
45. We’re fighting the aging process. We need to start with preventative
maintenance, before surgery and all of that other nonsense."
Ulino said her salon offers "all different services for
hair, skin and bodies for all kinds of people."
The spa’s prices range from $75 for a facial or a one-hour massage
to $80 for hot lava stone massage. For $95, customers can experience
the service called "Bootylicious" that "detoxifies,
massages and drains fluid." In a scene reminiscent of the
film "Barbarella," (top left) aesthetician Anna Bailon
worked the controls of the appliance while Diane Maniscalco enjoyed
the massaging compression and decompression of this new-age gadget.
"These boots would help with circulation and cellulitus,"
explained Ulino.
The spa also offers body treatments, such as the "parafango"
mud treatment (in which a mix of warm paraffin and Spanish sea
mud is painted on the body and then wrapped in cellophane) and
a seaweed wrap, which is applied in the DownTime wet treatment
room outfitted with a five-head Vichy shower – a rare find in
Brooklyn.
The spa also has three hair stations, and offers a range of manicures,
pedicures and waxing.
For more information, call (718) 218-9680.
