Spaaah

Hotel Crush Visits the Argyle Salon and Spa

March 12, 2012 Spaaah, The Beat

argyle salon and spa room It’s with great anticipation and a tinge of desperation that we storm into an appointment at a new spa. Like the delirious aroma of good perfume or the tingle of a delicious new bubbly, we seek, crave, and devour novelty. The backlog of knots to work through as our excuse, we booked an 80-minute custom massage at the Argyle and a plunge in the Turkish hammam. For those familiar with Los Angeles, the Argyle Salon & Spa is located in the hotel we will always call The Argyle, though it is DBA an alias called the Sunset Tower. Our arrival signaled the refreshing appearance of an orange juice, and we were escorted downstairs to the quiet blur of the Argyle’s spa suites.

We love the bright and easy waiting rooms of most spas, with their cucumber-spiked water and delicious brownies (well, at Bliss), but we also love the decadently anti-social treat of having our own suite for the duration of our visit, stocked with Arcona products. After settling in, our masseuse (and cruise director for the afternoon) supplied us with an icy washcloth, a scoop of coconut brown sugar scrub, and a quick immersion on how to operate the Hammam jets. We love a good steam and the hammam did not disappoint, smothering us in a wall of hot water vapor as we lingered under the cold tap. Twenty minutes was our ration of dizzying heat, and we were back in our suite ready for a reset.

We remember the best massage of our life like our first trip to Europe, and we’re happy to report that our masseuse at the Argyle was competitive with the EU. A good massage is rigorous without being painful, relaxing while still effective. Working each knot one by one, our masseuse eased our muscles back into place, leaving us refreshed and numb with relaxation.

Mother Daughter Spa Day

December 5, 2011 Bliss, Spaaah, The Beat

We at HotelCrush are deeply opinionated, but we’re also about objectivity – and fairness. After last spring’s fabulous Father/Daughter Spa Day, it was just a matter of time before we pulled together something equally fabulous for Mom. Our proprietor of choice was Bliss Spa Hollywood, the only Bliss to serve champagne, and therefore the BEST Bliss. Drai’s rooftop lounge was closed for lunch, so we found a sunny table outside at Delphine and dug into bistro fare (a salad for her, a Croque for us). Of course a party isn’t complete without party favors, so we handed her a Bliss bag of our faves: Lemon and Sage body butter, High Intensity hand cream, and Glamour Gloves (“Ooh! those gloves that I use after putting hand cream on?? Oh I SO need these…”)

And then it was off to the spa. We’ve road-tested the Triple Oxygen Treatment, Fully Loaded Facial, and Elemis Tri-Enzyme Facial, but wanted to do something luxe and patently Bliss for mom. We booked her into the Youth As We Know It Facial, a nourishing anti-aging fog of collagen and relaxation, while we opted for our standard Blissage75, a 75-minute knot-tamer fortified with a paraffin foot pack and a full-on hemorrhage of Blood Orange and White Pepper body butter. It was her first time in the spa portion of Bliss, so we were excited to introduce her to the decadent backstage. “The brownies are absolutely drop dead,” we warned, pillaging two at a time. Settling into the comfortable couch, we chatted over sips of bubbly, wished each other well, and plunged vehemently into the last perfect hour of rev and renewal.

HotelCrush Does Arcona

October 8, 2011 Spaaah, The Beat

Our skincare needs are simple. We like products that work. We also like products that smell good, feel good, and aren’t crazy expensive. But overall, we’re content with anything that does what it says it’s going to do, and smitten with anything that does more. So when our friend P started raving about Arcona products, we were curious but cautious. "Organic" can mean potent, nutritious, and nourishing, but it also has the connotation of being wussy, hokey, and second-rate. Our experience at Arcona was revitalizing in itself, but we were more invested in how the products we were given improved our skin in the long-term. With all of the other products on our shelf for a month and a half, we gamely took the Arcona challenge. And we’re THRILLED with the results.

Arcona Cranberry Gommage

A good face exfoliator is hard to find. It can’t be too rough (small, evenly shaped particles work best) and it must be dense enough in particles to excavate properly. Our discovery of Arcona’s Cranberry Gommage was everything we wanted – a thick, viscous paste that dislodges blackheads and a comforting cranberry scent that reassures our skin we’re not too harsh.

Arcona White Tea Purifying Cleanser

This cleanser is by far the best we’ve tested this year, easing even our favorite Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash off the shelf. We love the gentle fragrance and smooth lather, which can only be described as medicinal in its healing properties. Our face feels cleaner, softer, and more revived with every use.

Arcona Gentle Solution

Oily skin and heavy creams don’t mix, but even oily skin needs a boost of nutrients. Rich with antioxidants and as natural as a leaf, this serum hydrates without overpowering or congesting pores. The wonderful scent tinged with coconut reminds us of Hawaiian vacations and warm ocean breezes.

Arcona Night Breeze

It seems every skincare line has their requisite oxygen cream, and it’s no wonder given the benefits of oxygen in promoting cell turnover and skin hydration. Like many oxygen products, this one has a slight laboratory smell, that we don’t mind, given the improvement in our skin’s overall tone over the course of a month.

Arcona AM Acne Lotion

Arcona Magic White Ice

Bliss Hollywood, can we move in?

October 4, 2011 Bliss, Hollywood, Spaaah, The Beat

We’ve mentioned before that we are blisteringly DIY about some things (manicures, lemonade, VIP birthday cakes) but there is one thing we absolutely cannot do for ourself: a massage.

And for that we go to Moeul.

We discovered Moeul last spring on a day when the knots in our back and neck were so tight that it was reminiscent of a car accident injury, and, again having one of those weeks, we booked in for a reset. With the enthusiasm of an aesthetician performing extractions (“got one!”), Moeul defeated the knots between our shoulder blades with deep Shiatsu and Swedish massage, rewarding our muscles with an application of cooling peppermint oil.

We don’t get massages for relaxation, so the balance of our Blissage was active (and sometimes downright forceful). But the reward is a month knot-free, until the ravages of our punishing desk chair converge on that spot in the middle of our back…

The Sitting Room in the Ladies Locker Room at Bliss Spa Hollywood (those missing brownies were ours…):

photo of the waiting area in the ladies locker room at bliss spa hollywood

The Sitting Area and Lockers in the Ladies Locker Room at Bliss Spa Hollywood:

photo of the waiting area and locker changing room in the ladies locker room at bliss spa hollywood

The Sitting Area and Vanity/Sink Station:

photo of the sink area at bliss spa hollywood bliss spa sink and mirrors

The Steam Showers (Left) Sauna Area (Right) and Locker Room Amenities at Bliss Spa Hollywood:

photo of the steam shower and sauna area at bliss spa hollywood photo of the ladies locker room amenities at bliss spa hollywood

Trip to Carasoin

September 14, 2011 Spaaah, The Beat

Carasoin is a beautiful spot located on Robertson Blvd. next to Newsroom Cafe. Appointed in tapestry wallpaper with lacquer sidetables and comfortable beige couches, the waiting room has both the formality of a living room and the comfort of a lounge. We were warmly welcomed, and offered tea or water both before our treatment and after.

Located off the main corridor, our treatment room had a luxuriously high ceiling and a black box theater feel. Deliciously scented candles (pomegranate?) gave warmth to the space, and the treatment bed was appointed with a sheet and full duvet, with a piece of chocolate on the pillow.

Some spa treatments are as old as time (massage anyone?) and some are dubiously cutting edge. Leaning heavily on technology, Carasoin’s signature Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial with Rejuvenate serum would have been considered plastic surgery fifteen years ago. Involving a machine that delivers a vitamin-rich antioxidant serum to skin through a stimulating, deeply penetrating blast of oxygen, the Oxygen Facial promises rejuvenation and hydration, and it delivers.

Our treatment began with a Eucalyptus cleanse and warm foot rub, then proceeded to a second cleanse and Pumpkin Enzyme scrub. Spiced like gingerbread and slightly tingly, the pumpkin scrub combined the efforts of jojoba beads to physically remove dead skin cells and fruit enzymes to chemically address them. We moved next through a series of gentle extractions (so gentle that we fell asleep) but we revived sufficiently for the hyperbaric oxygen spray. Lasting approximately fifteen minutes, the machine’s nozzle mowed the surface of our face with a fine spray of oxygen and serum. We loved the cool smothering of oxygen, (though it did tickle our neck).

We were told at the end of treatment that the serum would absorb fully in the next day, and we’re happy to report that our skin feels tighter and looks clearer.

Maybe there is something to science, after all.