Spa of the Day: Nail Garden, Burbank CA
Nail Garden in Burbank, CA
Last Thursday I went to Nail Garden, a nail salon in Burbank, CA. The owner asked me to come in for a complimentary mani/pedi service. I was very impressed with the quality of the service and the friendliness and professionalism of the staff.
The location is in a strip mall, so it’s not much to look at from the outside, but once you walk in, you can see that a lot of love went into this place. There are these giant, faux trees winding around the place – kinda reminded me of Bigfoot Lodge but with spa facilities! The spa massage chairs are super comfortable and high quality.
I like the little touches they add – like free wine and cheese at “happy hour” Mon – Wed. I was there on a Thursday but I was still offered wine (and I could be wrong, but I don’t think the girls knew I was a blogger so they weren’t just buttering me up). The bowl of water that you soak your fingernails in had slices of orange and lemon. I don’t know if that is meant to whiten your nails or if it’s just for looks, but I thought it was a nice touch.
The girls that worked on me, Ava and Nina, were very sweet and very professional. They were very concerned about my comfort the whole time. I had all the extras (paraffin treatment, a leg mask, salt scrub with massage, etc.) and the entire relaxing process lasted over an hour. I never felt rushed in the slightest and the girls actually worked on me for about 15 minutes after they were supposed to be closed!
They use cruelty-free, OPI polish. They also have OPI’s Axxium gel (which is a gel that hardens like a polish and is supposed to last for 2 weeks!) and Minx nails.
They also do waxing, so I plan to go back to get my eyebrows done soon ($15 for an eyebrow wax – not bad). And, I noticed the girl at the front desk (didn’t catch her name, but she was very sweet) had amazing, perfectly-arched eyebrows. I commented on them and she said she had them done in the salon. Also, they do eyelash extensions, which I may try someday but it’s a little out of my price range (although they charge $250+ which is cheaper than some places I’ve seen).
Nail Garden has 3 locations and they are opening up a 4th in Brentwood, CA.
Nail Garden Studio City – 818-506-4868
Nail Garden Burbank - 818-566-4319
Nail Garden Sherman Oaks – 818-783-2745
Join Nail Garden on Facebook!
Mention “My Beauty Bunny” at any Nail Garden location this week and receive 10% OFF your next visit! (Through 3/6/10.) Plus, get a FREE manicure and free Essie nail polish On March 13th and 14th only – at the Studio City location only. More info here.
February 2010 Monthly Beauty Faves
Brunette and Pink www.brunetteandpink.com Twitter: twitter.com/brunetteandpink Facebook: www.facebook.com Products: Huge Lips Skinny Hips in Red Sole Pur Minerals Mineral Glow Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics loose pigment in Brasstack Garnier Nutritioniste Daily Regenerating Serum Bliss Spa Soapy Suds Body Wash and Bubble Bath in blood orange and white pepper Only Huge Lips Skinny Hips and OCC loose pigment were provided as samples for reviews a while back. Pur Minerals Mineral Glow review: tinyurl.com Thanks for watching! Don’t forget to rate and subscribe. Comment if you have any requests! xoxo
Rainbow: Winter Skin Care Tips!
Diana Kerala Das gives tips on skin care during Winter season in this episode of ‘Rainbow’. www.istream.in
The dull truth about soap and water
Having seen our posts about pH quoted on a site about the need for soap to be ‘drying’ in order to clean skin properly, we have since been mulling over the merits (or lack thereof) of using soap and water.
The author of TheSoapBlog.com makes a great case for using homemade skin care over chemical-laden manufactured products such as The Dove Beauty Bar. However, we differ on a couple of fundamental points when it comes to the importance of pH and so I have called upon our lovely bioesthetician Ishtar Magally to clarify her thinking…
The author says that the drying effect of soap is not a problem because, “within 20 minutes [of washing], [the acid mantle] is about 1/3 strength and within 2-3 hours, it is back up at full strength.”
However, Ishtar suggests that unfortunately this isn’t quite true. “The skin will be able to restore its stripped oils if, and only if, pH-balanced formulas were used to cleanse it. pH-disturbing formulas will simply strip almost all the natural oils of the skin making it impossible for our glands to restore the normal acid range.
As a result two things could happen here:
- The skin is unable to replenish the stripped oils leading to dry, sensitive skin.
- The sebaceous glands produce too much oil as a result of over-stripping, leading to overly oily, acne-prone skin.”
She adds: “The truth is that those of us who have been using pH-balanced formulas for a while know from personal experience what a great difference it makes to keep the skin working within the right pH range.”
This is why we advocate using an all-natural and organic mildly acidic cleanser and toner because soap and water are both too alkaline to promote the healthiest environment for your skin.
If you are still pH-confused (and we understand why you might be), you can read more here.
And don’t forget, if you are in the US you can fire your questions (in English or Spanish) directly to Ishtar on the live chat section of the site 11am-3pm EST Monday to Thursday. And if you are in Europe, you can speak to Francoise 11am-3pm GMT.
More Love For Wonderbrand Aveda
My (lucky) sister’s long weekend in the sybaritic Florida Keys made me think of the wonderful Aveda lifestyle and concept salon experience I’d had at Victoria’s Salon on Duval, not long after I’d moved back to NY last year. I’m sure Sarah has equally fond memories of her own–we both received the royal treatment on her wedding day!
Victoria’s happens to be located in a charming old two-story house, and despite its location in the heart of downtown Key West (right across the street from the boisterous-but very much beloved-Bull and Whistle Bar), it was easy for me to relax and enjoy being pampered–and how! The amazing Aveda stylist didn’t seem to mind to taking a long time to lather/massage my hair and head; as delightful as that felt, what had pleased me the most was the styling that followed. I can honestly say I don’t think my hair has ever been as sleek and shiny as it had been on that humid October day: to look at it, one would never have guessed how long I’d been outside in the rain….
While I can only speak of my own lavish hair-care experience at Victoria’s (there wasn’t enough time to indulge myself in anything else), Aveda would also like to remind you of the myriad of other benefits available at their signature salons and spas: some of which are even free. How cool is that?!
And since I think so highly of Aveda ,overall (read the laudable [no]animal-testing promise here), I also decided to stalk the company on Facebook. I’m glad I did, because that’s where I noticed their version of a stimulus package.
Not sure about anyone else, but since yours truly didn’t get to venture any further than the slushy, slippery streets of upstate NY this weekend, I could definitely stand a little pick-me-up!
Jen #2
Natural and Organic Baby Personal Care and MultiVitamin & Mineral Powder
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What’s The Connection Between Acne And Milk?
The discussion of relationship between acne and milk has come up time and studies are sure that milk is responsible fro causing acne. However, is it actually the case, is still debatable. Let’s attempt to know more on the link between the two.
As everyone knows, one of the main reasons for an acne breakout is the surplus production of sebum and milk is said to make a contribution to this. Milk contains 2 male hormones including androgen which can stimulate the sebum producing sebaceous glands and the testosterone which causes excessive emission of the sebum. Both these may cause common issues relating to acne like blocked skin pores leading to further acne breakouts.
As well as that milk is also known to contain whey protein and recombinant bovine enlargement hormone rBGH. These substance aren’t intrinsically present in the milk itself, but are added to milk during the processing stage. These substances are major in charge of the unpleasant eruptions of mounts and pimples. Many experts are of the people struggling acne must maintain safe distance from whey protein. It is fro this reason drinking milk should be dodged if you are nursing acne.
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Thus, milk can harm your skin in more ways than just one. Despite all this milk can’t be only blamed for you skin condition. This is as there are countless people who have been drinking milk all their life and have not dealt with a pimple. Also, there isn’t any definitive study to prove that acne is caused due to milk.
However, If you are convinced that your acne problems have been due to milk, you can try losing all dairy products from your diet. If you see an enhancement in your condition after this measure, you can desist from consuming milk altogether. If you’d rather not give it up absolutely, you can substitute the sort of milk you typically drink with some other type- for e.g.- try drinking goat’s milk instead of cow’s. However,if there isn’t any discernable improvement to your condition after banning milk products from your diet, it doubtless means you can go on consuming them as they’re not what caused the acne breakout in the first place.
Simply saying no to cow’s milk isn’t a complete cure for your acne problem. To finish liberty from the problem it is essential that you make use of a correct anti acne remedy. In this context exposed skin therapy system is the ideal choice. This treatment is your acne types. It cures the existing acne and also ensures that the future breakouts of acne are also stopped. There are a variety of options in this exposed skin care system, you can go in for exposed 5 piece expanded kit or exposed six piece expanded kit as per your want and suitability.
So, if you think milk is the main culprit behind your acne breakout, by all means, eliminate it from your diet. However, do not forget to use a useful anti acne solution as well for fast and convenient resolution of your condition.
