the price of beauty

i love to pamper myself, even though i rarely have time to do it. i've learned, through experience, that the best services are not always at the nicest places.

my family lives in San Francisco so i visit quite frequently (especially since i have the cutest nephew and niece ever -- more on that another time). i received a DailyCandy before one trip about an inexpensive facial at Urban Beauty Skin Care. i made an appointment to check it out. Sandy's business is in a makeshift backroom of a nail salon (don't expect the Four Seasons), but my oh my, the facial is WONDERFUL. she'll tell you it'll be 1 - 1 1/2 hours, but she's wrong. i'm almost always there for 2. it's a nap, facial and massage all rolled up into one. and it's only $35. i usually add the collagen mask for $10. and Sandy is ADORABLE.

but i can't keep traveling to San Francisco for facials, so i started researching facials in NYC. my friend who grew up in Chinatown recommended Corina's Beauty Centre, and who was i to object?



it's a similar set-up as Urban Beauty (with prices that are a bit higher -- it is NYC after all). Corina's son is playing on the computer in the front room, and four tables are in the back room. it's not always quiet: the phone rings and it's answered by either Corina or her co-worker, and there may be a chatty Chinese woman receiving a facial on the table next to you. but they cleanse, steam, extract, cleanse again, massage and moisturize for two hours! and you head home with your skin feeling like butter.