Letters to the Editor

Write a Letter »

Read Letters »

Spa School

Karen Deutsch uses the know-how of three local spas to update her daily beauty regimen. 

spa schoolMake-Up
The last time I had my make-up done by a so-called professional (whose quest was to sell me seventeen pounds of product), I looked like an overzealous hooker. Imagine my infinite gratitude when, after a forty-five-minute make-up consultation at Kenneth Cote Salon, I began desperately seeking coworkers to show off my updated face. Unlike the make-up counter at Nordstrom, you’re paying for the session at Cote and no one’s going to bully you into buying their line. It’s a Q&A (Do you go out straight from work? Does your lipstick fade quickly? Are your eyelids oily?) to solve your cosmetic ennui. Frankly, I knew that I needed more than my daily sweep of neutral shadow and dab of gloss, but my fear of Clown College eyes got the best of me.

So what did I take away? How to shape brows softly, contour my shadow better, choose the best shades for my coloring (hello, lavender!) and the epiphany that foundations are no longer thick plasma-like goo but soft, feather-like powders. Even more importantly, it’s absolutely imperative to update your make-up as you age and—sorry—you’re not going to figure out how from the pages of Allure. You can even ask your stylist to do one eye and let you try the other. Knowledge is power. (And bronzer a godsend.) Kenneth Cote Salon, 333 Main Street, East Greenwich, 884-2810, kennethcote.com
Make-up consultation: $50

Hair
For the last ten years, I have been a slave to my hair—curly, worn straight—and I continue to fight a daily battle against the mushroom cloud that likes to settle on my head in humid weather. Enter Rebecca Minutelli, hair guru at Newport’s SpaVuré. Inside this spacious, serene spa lies the solution to bad hair days and the humdrum style you’ve been sporting for years. (J.Crew may sell tortoise butterfly clips, my friends, but that doesn’t make them right.)

For me, that means the basics of blowdrying (How do I get a shiny finish on my hair? Are natural bristles better than ceramic? How do I protect my blowdry without shellacking it?) and the possibilities of doing something other than wearing my straight-down style or a gym-ready ponytail.

After little more than an hour, I not only understood what I’d been doing wrong with my hairdryer but also had two work-ready options that didn’t make me look like a “before” picture. Appointments are tailored to each client so feel free to ask questions about coloring, cut, style and accessories, all without committing to a drastic change.
SpaVuré, 25 America’s Cup Avenue, Newport, 619-2532, spavure.com
Hair consultation: $30 and up.

Skin
Jennifer Graham and Nessa Ferreira should consider themselves lucky that I’m not stalking them—my day at The Apothecary was that good. What warranted such profound personal enthusiasm? Age. As of late, it’s begun to catch up with me. Irascible laugh lines have formed around my mouth, the crease between my brows has begun to mock me and a generally ruddiness seems to have settled on my thirty-something face.

In response to my pleading, Ferreira spent more than an hour administering an Alpha Beta hydroxy peel that left my face baby-soft and glowing (in an enviable way rather a sunburned hue). The treatment includes not only the relatively mild chemical process but a refreshingly cool mask, plenty of herbal-scented moisture and a complete massage for my face, neck, arms and—blissfully—feet. Jennifer, whose extensive experience with make-up and skincare convinced her British-born husband, John, to open the spa last year, completes your “make-down” with powder-based Bare Escentuals and lip-plumping glosses.

In addition to a vast body of knowledge and best-friend demeanor (I hugged them both before leaving), The Apothecary offers a variety of facials (anti-aging, acne-fighting and deep-cleaning), sugar waxing, and a cache of must-have products, including eyelash re-grower, self-tanners, hydrating serums, and a home version of the peel that I quickly snapped up. The Apothecary, 6 Broadway, Newport, 324-6253, theapothecarynewport.com
Facials: Prices start at $65, though the Alpha Beta may be the best $100 you’ll ever spend on your skin.

Subscribe
- October, 2008

Subscribe now to
Rhode Island Monthly.

70%

off cover price

Newsletter
The Dish

Sign up now for our dining e-newsletter for the latest on the local food scene.

Special sections
Focus on Business 2009
Profiles in Success
«mouse over to scroll through publications»