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September 2009
Give your tired skin an eco-friendly glow
Dip into the eco-friendly fountain of youth and be in the know on the latest in luxury, organic beauty products thanks to Futurenatural, a locally based, online beauty boutique touting more than 40 brands of the best organic and natural brands in the world.
From organic anti-aging moisturizers to makeup made from all natural ingredients, the products represented are a finely edited array of the highest quality, natural beauty products in the market.
Shop by brand to uncover the story behind each line, or by skin type to find the best treatments and elixirs specific to the skin you’re in.
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Relaxing at the human carwash feels delicious
All I could think of was: This must be how a car feels in a carwash. And if that’s the case, the car feels pretty good.
I was experiencing the Moroccan Bath Tradition treatment at Spa Reveil at the Domain. It’s one of the spa’s signature treatments, and it’s a blissful 80 minutes of scrubbing, rinsing and soothing.
I began my afternoon at Reveil with an express facial from Jaclyn Losie, who cleaned my face with a tea tree oil cleanser, then applied carrot seed and gardenia serums before adding a seaweed mask.
She massaged my face with a creamy moisturizer, aware that I was headed into a body treatment that would give it time to work on my summer-dried face.
With my face slathered, I was handed off to Susan Deibert for my Moroccan bath treatment.
The primary component of this treatment is the Vichy shower, a rinse provided by an arm equipped with shower heads that is passed over the massage table. The device got its start long ago in the hot springs of Vichy, France. I’ve had scrubs rinsed off in various ways, and the Vichy shower seems the most expeditious — assuming you’re in a room with a drain. And we were.
Before we started, Deibert tested the water temperature on my feet. It was quite warm, but not hot.
Deibert washed my back and legs with wild lime cleanser, which smelled like key lime pie — delicious. Then it was time to rinse with the Vichy shower arm. At first, the water tickled a bit. Back and forth went the shower heads. This was when I started feeling like I was in a carwash.
Eventually, I simply felt warmth flowing over me like a sheet. It was comforting.
I flipped over — Deibert is a master at dealing with draping during flips — for a wash, rinse, repeat.
Next came the scrub, with a coffee-based mixture, followed by yet another wonderful Vichy rinse. I should note that by now my hair was quite wet. I was offered a head covering, but I knew my hair would escape it, so I simply planned a hair-washing at the spa after the treatment, which I scheduled at the end of my workday.
After I’d been thoroughly scrubbed and Vichy-showered, Deibert applied a moisturizer she called Creme de la Creme.
“This is an application, not a massage,” she said, but it surely felt like a massage to me. Softened, I stepped into my robe and head down the hall to a lovely, Moroccan-tiled steam room, where I spent about 20 minutes.
Having been scrubbed, rinsed and steamed, I emerged from Spa Reveil shiny and happy — like a freshly washed car would feel, I’m sure, if it could.
Spa Reveil
11410 Century Oaks Terrace
The Domain
339-7000
Moroccan Bath treatment: 80 minutes, $165
Afterglow
I’d been washed and steamed; I needed to warm my insides as well. Good thing The Steeping Room is also at the Domain. A pot of Orange Tiger ($3.75), an orange-ginger tea blend, did the trick.
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Appreciation for BeverlyD
Girls, do you remember being 8 years old and having slumber parties? Putting on your robes and playing with each other’s hair and makeup, while gossiping about the cute boy next door? There was camaraderie between you and the girls. Girls ruled … and boys drooled.
BeverlyD brings back these times with her hair parties for women. With the launch of her 100 percent organic, eco-friendly hair and body products, BeverlyD began throwing these parties.
“I want to build women and community. So much of our lives are separate; we get caught up in our own lives, our own little bubbles,” she said. “Hair parties bring women together. When we come together, we talk and connect. A lot of good out comes out of it.”
Women can host these parties or attend one. They come in comfy clothes or robes and bring their own blow dryers, brushes and styling tools. The spa ritual starts with food. They prepare a healthy and organic meal made with local products. Then comes appreciation time, where the women go around and tell what they appreciate in their lives.
“It’s about connecting into the present moment and seeing what you appreciate in your life.” BeverlyD said. “This is also a very good habit to get into in all your relationships.”
Then the women take turns massaging their hair with BeverlyD’s Appreciation, a pre-shampoo that penetrates the hair and scalp to deep condition. Then they use her organic shampoo and conditioner and style their own hair as BeverlyD gives them styling tips.
Her hair parties allow her to introduce her line of products to other women. She said she’d much rather tell women about it than to put it on a shelf where it might get overlooked.
“I want to create a culture of try before your buy,” she said. “At the hair party women get to try it and touch it themselves. They get to actually use it and feel the difference.”
BeverlyD’s green line has eight different products and about every two months she comes to Austin to throw her hair parties. If you can’t wait two months, you can also get coached by her to host your own party. So throw on your robes, get the hair brushes out and have a party, BeverlyD style!
To find out more about BeverlyD’s hair products or hair parties, go to www.BeverlyD.com.
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Nourish skin naturally at online shop
We all know ingredients in beauty products are just as important for our bodies as those in food labels, and thanks to Futurenatural, a locally based online beauty boutique touting more than 40 brands of the best organic and natural brands in the world, your skin can be nourished, not famished.
A few of the good-enough-to-eat products might have already secured a spot in your daily beauty regimen, but now you can find your faves all in one place.
Owner Emma Pezzack, who has been in the beauty biz for 25 years, has created a marketplace for eco-conscious consumers to shop for quality organic skin products. From scalp treatments to foot cream, you’ll be treated from head to toe.
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