OPI to Debut Its Glamorous Miss Universe Collection in Las Vegas

OPI recently  introduced its collection of nail colors inspired by the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides.” Always innovative, OPI has just announced that it has partnered with the Miss Universe Organization for the launch of its Miss Universe Collection. Available in September, the collection will feature four new glamorous lacquers which will be unveiled at an exclusive Miss USA event on June 14, 2011, in Las Vegas. Miss USA Rima Fakih and Miss Universe Ximena Navarrete, along with pageant contestants, will be on hand at the private event taking place at Color, A Salon by Michael Boychuck at Ceasars Palace Las Vegas. Synonymous with beauty and glitz, the Miss USA event is the perfect setting to spotlight OPI’s new line.  “This collection embodies the pageants’ femininity, grace and glamour, with a real sense of fun shown through these shades,” said Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI executive VP & artistic director. “There is no better place to unveil the Miss Universe Collection than in The City of Lights.” The Miss USA Pageant will be presented live on Sunday, June 19, at 9:00 ET on NBC where Weiss-Fischmann will serve as a judge.

Help Shield Your Clients From Summer’s
Harmful Rays with Sun Safety Apps

Although no one needs to remind me to stay out of the sun, I know I’m an exception to the rule, a rare breed who seeks shade over sun any time of the day.  However, for those who crave the sun’s rays, there are now a number of apps from Appitalism.com, a mobile app superstore, to help protect them from getting burnt to a crisp. Share these apps with your summer-loving clients, and their skin will thank you for it…

Sun Safety (Free for iPhones) – this skin-cancer prevention app provides current weather information for any U.S. city, in addition to useful up-to-date sun exposure danger information with advice on how to protect yourself and your family from skin cancer.

UV Index (Free for Androids) – this app is a simple and easy to use way of getting the UV index for the day. It functions for all U.S. states and territories. By simply entering a zip code or city/state combination, it provides the color-coded UV index.

Coppertone MyUVAlert (Free for iPhones) – Providing sun protection information for the entire family, it offers UV index forecasts, custom sunscreen reapplication reminders, and individualized product recommendations.

Handy Weather for Blackberry (Free for Blackberrys) – this app provides weather forecasts, including humidty, temperature, wind, pressure, UV index, and more, for more than 40,000 preset cities.

Raffles Praslin Seychelles Introduces
a Royalty-Inspired Honeymoon Package

Although I never got caught up in the royal mania surrounding Will and Kate’s recent wedding, I was curious to learn of where they planned to spend their honeymoon. With the world at their feet, I hoped they would choose some place extraordinary. And while I would have most definitely chosen a place I hadn’t already visited, I must say that the Seychelles are pretty spectacular. And for those who can afford to indulge in the new “Prince William and Kate Middleton” Honeymoon Package (starting at $1,500) at Raffles Praslin Seychelles, life is all the sweeter. The new package involves accommodation in an Ocean View Pool villa with a private plunge pool, daily breakfast, a 90-minute couples’ spa treatment in an open-air room with views of the Indian Ocean, a romantic dinner for two on the beach, a private guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Vallee de Mai, a welcome amenity, Champagne on arrival along with a drawn bath, and airport transfers. It’s an indulgent way to make the most of a romantic holiday in the Seychelles and feel like true royalty.

HOMMAGE Atelier: A Renaissance of Grooming in NYC

When the editorial team at American Spa asked me to report on the opening of the new HOMMAGE Atelier By Julien Farel, my answer was a resounding, “Yes, please!” Something about the mention of straight-razor shaves, personalized treatments catered to the male spa guest, and a brand-new luxurious space was more than enough to pique my interest.

Located on the penthouse space of Julien Farel’s beauty empire on Madison Avenue, the Atelier is an intimate, sky-lit enclave designed to welcome and soothe the guest and provide an escape from the busy New York City streets. From my seat in a plush leather armchair in front of dual flat-screen TVs, the experience began with an offering of slippers, a cocktail, and a discussion of the highly customizable list of treatments. Services include sculpting facials; invigorating straight-razor shaves; neck, shoulder, and head acupressure massages; hand and foot grooming; haircuts with scalp massage; and other male-centric offerings.

For those guests interested in the true royal treatment, signature services include The Ultimate Facial with lymphatic drainage and shave and the Black Diamond Exfoliation, which features cultured black diamonds and silver spheres to exfoliate, detoxify, and renew the complexion. The list goes on with specialized and pre-event grooming packages and barbershop essentials provided by Julien Farel and his elite team of spa and beauty professionals.

The option for me this day was the Ultimate Facial and shave, and it was singular experience, as the HOMMAGE product line seemed particularly well-suited for my sometimes dry complexion. It’s also about setting: the main treatment room is straight out of a James Bond movie set with a view through smoked glass window back at the Atelier floor. And to describe the treatments without a mention of the excellent staff would be a true disservice. The entire team moves deftly through the space with the panache that can only be gained from years of experience working with a discerning clientele who are accustomed to getting the very best. (For more details, be sure to check out the Radar section in an upcoming summer issue of American Spa.)

So this is very simply a call to all modern gentlemen. New York City is now home to a uniquely masculine escape to recharge, reinvigorate, and refresh. Plus, it’s now open for reservations and also boasts a three-tiered membership service that offers priority access to all HOMMAGE Atelier locations worldwide. (Outposts across the Middle East and Asia are scheduled to open throughout 2011 and 2012.) Click here for more information.

—Klint Callaghan

Serene House Introduces “Scents” of Style

My sister, like most people, likes for her house to smell fresh and clean, yet inviting. For years, she kept a different scented candle in each room to evoke a mood: apple-pie scented in the kitchen, a vanilla aroma in the family room, a freshly cleansed linen smell in the bathroom. But now that she has three young kids running around the house, having open flames obviously isn’t a good idea, but the alternatives weren’t pleasing to her either. She didn’t want to spray anything in the air and didn’t like the way those plug-in fresheners look. Well, I think I just discovered the perfect solution with the Scentilizer Collection from Serene House. This fragrance collection offers seven  scents available in a variety of super-cute designs. They gently release a combination of essential oils and water into the air, producing a fragrant vapor that also reduces the dryness of indoor air. The coolest part? Select Scentilizers come with a built-in speaker and a stream of pre-programmed relaxing music, or users can plus an MP3, MP4, or CD player right into the unit to play their own music! Perfect for the treatment room or as a retail item, this fragrance collection will help anyone enjoy the sweet smell of relaxation.

Spa at Seabourn on Quest To Debut in June

The Spa at Seabourn on Quest, which debuts next month, will feature a number of spa amenities and healthy offerings. The expansive spa, encompassing two decks, will consist of a full-service salon and a thermal suite with eight heated loungers, cocooning recliners, an aroma steam bath with salt inhalation, and a unisex herbal bath.  There are two types of saunas in the spa, including a bio sauna in the women’s changing area and a traditional Finnish sauna in the men’s area. On the top deck, guests can enjoy the outdoor, cabana-style relaxation area, furnished with lounge chairs and sofas in warm and soothing tones.

Available only on Seabourn ships, the Spa at Seabourn will offer a range of treatments using SkinCeuticals and Elemis products. The 11,400-square-foot spa will also include a a Kneipp Walk pool, which provides holistic, water therapy treatment designed to enhance circulation. “The Spa at Seabourn on Quest is a beautiful and technologically-advanced facility designed to offer our guests the most advanced spa experiences at sea,” says Richard D. Meadows, Seabourn’s president. “Our spa offers several unique and exclusive amenities that guests can enjoy only when they sail with Seabourn.”

Spa Week Launches New Online Discount Site

I’m not shy about sharing my obsession with discount sites. As a consumer, I find the deals pretty straightforward, provided you read the fine print. However, after moderating a panel on the topic at IECSC New York, I learned that as a spa owner, it can be quite a bit more complicated. Not only do you have to worry about offering the right deal but you also have to worry about choosing the right site. Well, now New York City spa owners have one more from which to choose with the introduction of TheRightDeal.com from Spa Week. Every Wednesday, TheRightDeal offers one special from a top-rated spa or business in New York City. The site will be expanding its offerings to multiple days and cities in the near future. What makes the site different from others?

It offers consumers a free, full-sized gift with purchase, as well a exclusive treatments for $99 or less every time.

It offers spas the opportunity to participate without accommodating thousands of appointments. That’s because TheRightDeal caps deals at 250, ensuring you’re able to handle the new clients without sacrificing your spa’s quality of service.

This Wednesday, the site featured a package from Carol’s Daughter – The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa. The Goddess Ritual Pedicure Package, which includes a Goddess Ritual Pedicure with Paraffin Treatment and 10 Minute Leg Massage, was available for only $49 although it’s regularly priced at $107. Consumers also got two free gifts…Carol’s Daughter Signature Shea Souffle Lotion and Roses & Honey Lip Balm. For more info on upcoming deals or how to get your spa in on the action, check out TheRightDeal.com.

An Inside Look at the May Issue

Spa Gregorie’s Day Spas & Salons Offer Guests a Skintervention With a Monthly Facial Club

Encouraging your clients to adopt a new skincare regime isn’t always easy. Old habits die hard, as they say. However, Spa Gregorie’s (Del Mar, Newport Beach, Rancho Santa Margarita , CA) has come up with a way to make it a bit easier thanks to the Skincredible Monthly Facial Club. Starting in May, the spa is offering complimentary skin evaluations to address individual skincare concerns. The Skintervention appointments are available for a full week at each Orange County location. Once clients have their tailored prescription, they are invited to join the spa’s monthly membership club. For $99 a month, members enjoy one monthly professional-grade facial, two complete homecare kits valued at $240, 20 percent off all additional skincare purchases, upgrades, and more. It’s a great way to help your clients put their best face forward and keep them coming back for more.

Make Up For Ever Launches Unretouched Ad Campaign

I hate being photographed. Unfortunately, it is increasingly difficult to avoid in this age of camera-equipped smartphones. Today, everyone I know totes around a camera in some form or another. Even worse, is the fact that they rarely hesitate to share the evidence of these impromptu shoots. While most of my friends know that I require prior approval before any shots go viral, photos that haven’t been digitally retouched (which are de rigeur unless you’re a celebrity or supermodel) rarely do anyone justice. That’s why I found it so refreshing to hear about MAKE UP FOR EVER, a Paris-based professional makeup brand that recently launched a print and online campaign that hasn’t been retouched. The ad, showing a woman snapping a photo of herself, highlights the brand’s HD Invisible Cover Foundation, which claims to provide a photo-ready finish after every application. Needless to say, the folks at MAKE UP FOR EVER aren’t afraid to let their products speak for themselves. For more on the gutsy campaign, check out the company’s dedicated microsite.