Chill Out LA: Spa, Beauty and Wellness Guide

Rosewood Sand Hill Resort

Rosewood Sand Hill: Effortless Luxury at Its Best

The Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park manages to capture every experience you could want in a hotel. It’s a Zen retreat, romantic escape, business power spot and swanky spa resort all rolled into one. As for me, I just wanted an overnight vacation, and the Rosewood delivered with airy and spacious rooms, impeccable service, four–star dining, and comfortable elegance. I spent just less than 24 hours there, but it felt like an extended vacation.

At the gateway of Silicon Valley and Stanford University, the Rosewood is nestled on 16 pristine acres, with stunning vistas of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As for convenience, it’s just minutes from SFO and San Jose Airports. No matter where you live in California, you can be poolside within a few hours. 

Walking into the hotel, I felt like the houseguest of a benevolent and tasteful billionaire. The grand living room manages to offer comfort and opulence all at once. The cool blue, celadon and tan color palette mirrors the colors of the sky and earth outside. Despite the elegance, the overstuffed couches and chairs invite you to put your feet up…and not get a dirty look for it.
 

The Rosewood management brags it has the largest guest rooms on the peninsula and it’s no empty boast. I had one of many “omigod” moments when the bellman opened my door. The smallest rooms are 525 square feet, and all reflect a style that can best be described as California Contemporary. Nothing feels too stuffy or formal -- it’s effortless luxury. And because this is Silicon Valley, “state-of-the–art” technology comes with the territory. Our room had two large flat screens as well as a flat screen in the bathroom.    Most everything in the room - from movies and music to lighting and room temperature -can be operated with the TV remote. The sumptuous marble bathrooms are bigger than your average living room.  Each have double vanities, a soaking tub deep enough for an NBA player and a separate rainfall shower.

After a soak in the mega tub, I headed to Madera, the property’s signature restaurant. The menu changes daily and features a who’s who of Northern California’s most celebrated purveyors like Bellweather Farms Lamb, Niman Ranch Beef, Liberty Farms Duck and Iacopi Farms Produce. The open kitchen provides culinary theater, and if you’re not watching the chefs, your eye is likely drawn to the floor-to-ceiling picture windows and the sweeping views of the hills beyond. The extensive wine list is heavily inspired by California vintners but offers selections from all over the world.

In the morning, I headed to Sense, the Rosewood’s tranquil spa. My therapist sent me into skin nirvana with a treatment called the Gold Rush Renewal. She polished me with a concoction of 24-karat gold, raw sugar and fruit extracts followed by a massage with a decadent dollop of shea body butter. No question: I would drive here just for the massage.  I wrapped my morning with a eucalyptus steam and an icy pink drink by the pool. Reluctant to leave, I postponed my checkout time to the last possible moment.  

All of this decadence doesn’t come cheap. A night at the Rosewood with dinner for two and a spa treatment could set you back $750. There are, however, some good deals right now. The Rosewood’s summer escape package offers a nightly rate of $260, including breakfast and parking. Several other packages are available, from girlfriend getaways to romantic escapes, and all offer great bang for your buck. Visit the resort’s special packages page for details. 

Raksa Sala

Rock Your Chakras at Raksa

I’ve been reading a lot about the recently opened Raksa Sala in Culver City, so I was excited at the opportunity to check it out for myself.  The wellness studio and café offers a variety of movement classes, including yoga, tai chi and qigong, in its lovely light-filled movement studio. Upstairs, guests can enjoy a diverse array of wellness services ranging from the expected (massage, facials, acupuncture, Reiki) to the intriguing (past life regression, hypnosis, shamanic healing) in the studio’s cheerful chakra-themed treatment rooms. After a healing treatment or movement class, visitors can linger at the on-site macrobiotic café and juice bar, which serves quinoa, kale and beet salads, roasted veggie sandwiches and other nutrient-packed delicacies.

My prenatal massage with Fernando was a treat indeed. Boasting over 10 years of experience in the healing arts, Fernando navigated the various kinks and knots aggravated by my swollen belly with gentle precision.  My delightfully relaxing one-hour session left me questioning why I didn’t treat myself to this type of TLC more regularly. I’ll definitely be visiting Raksa again to try out a class or a more adventurous treatment.

Narayan Sacred Healing Beauty

So Much Better Than Botox

If you’ve even so much as considered getting Botox treatments to erase your lines, I strongly urge you to make an appointment for Faceology with Narayan Sacred Healing Beauty first. And if you’ve already tried Botox, I implore you to consider this holistic alternative. If the thought of injecting a toxin into your skin isn’t enough to make you rethink your decision, consider these preliminary studies indicating that Botox actually impedes your ability to feel emotions. I say: Yikes!

Narayan’s Faceology treatment is a completely holistic alternative to Botox and other invasive wrinkle treatments like lasers and fillers. It’s based on Vietnamese facial reflexology maps of the face that include the chakras, the meridians, the organs, and the skeletal and muscular systems of the entire body. And it works. Narayan (AKA Kristi Marie Jones) has built on this concept to create a completely holistic protocol for treating the skin, body and soul using her own handmade “beauty blends,” as well as her own healing energy and natural intuitive abilities.

I’ve been a huge fan of Narayan’s beauty blends for years because they’re made from only the purest essential oils and other natural ingredients, all carefully selected to deliver results. The Faceology treatment uses a customized selection of these blends, including the Crystal Clarity Scrubbing Mask, Loving Heart Affirmation Serum and Super Natural Serum (you can check the product descriptions on her website for ingredient details). After cleansing, scrubbing and nourishing the skin with her yummy concoctions, Narayan takes the reflexology concept even further by tapping out tension held in the face with a crystal. I marveled at just how relaxing and rejuvenating being (lightly) pounded on the face and skull with a rock could be!

By the time Narayan was finished, I felt completely zoned out and needed a few minutes to get my bearings before driving home; energy work always does a number on me (in a good way). I took that time to gaze in awe at my face in the mirror. Lines were erased, eyes were bright, and my complexion seemed to glow from within. Pretty amazing stuff.

Narayan offers Faceology and other healing treatments at Yoga Remedy in Sherman Oaks and at her private home studio in Topanga Canyon. Please call 323.683.4224 to make an appointment.

Special Offer: Mention Chill Out LA and take 20 percent off a 90-minute Faceology treatment (regularly $180). Narayan also offers a package of five Faceology sessions for the price of four to get deeper, long-lasting results. 

Shades Natural Color

Gorgeous Color Without the Chemicals

Despite being a spa and beauty editor, I'm a pretty low maintenance kind of gal. When I grow tired of the gray hairs glaring back at me in the bathroom mirror, I'm more likely to pick up a bottle of hair color at the drugstore than I am to book an appointment at a salon. Of course, whether you do it yourself or opt for the professional treatment, the chemical in most colorants is hardly benign...and it begins to take its toll on your hair's health after awhile. Enter Shades Natural Color. 

Shades emerged from the vision of Susan Henry. After years of working at renowned salons like Jose Eber, Umberto and Prive, the symptoms of ammonia poisoning threatened to derail Susan's thriving career as a stylist. Instead, she found inspiration in her daughter's study of Botany at Humboldt State, and worked tirelessly to develop an all-natural, ammonia-free permanent color process. Eventually, she opened Shades in Beverly Hills.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into Shades was the smell. There was nothing chemical about it; it was more like the invigorating herbal scent of a spa. Susan herself was my colorist, and her warm and friendly demeanor was as comforting as the cup of hot tea I sipped as she massaged a custom color blend into my locks. I relaxed and snacked on fresh blueberries while a state-of-the-art machine that resembled a giant halo applied heat to activate the color. Next came a lovely massaging shampoo and conditioning treatment, and then I was passed on to Kiki for a haircut and blowdry. Sweet and adorable as she is, Kiki is also a perfectionist, and clearly took the time and effort to make sure my cut and blowdry were virtually flawless. 

When the pros were through with me, I marveled at how lustrous my hair looked and felt. A couple of months later, it's just as shiny and healthy looking - more so than with any color treatment I've ever had before. I'll be heading back to Shades soon to take care of my roots. Fortunately, for those of us on a budget, Susan sells take-home treatments as well, available in custom blends to match your color.

Shades provides a wonderful alternative for pregnant women or cancer patients who want to maintain their hair color. But after my visit, I have to wonder why anyone would bother with conventional salon coloring treatments when a just-as-effective, non-toxic alternative is available.

Do It Gorgeously

DIY Has Never Looked So Good

I have a new hero, and her name is Sophie Uliano. I'd heard of Sophie's first two books, Gorgeously Green and the Gorgeously Green Diet, but had never taken the time to seek them out. I may have been subconsciously put off by the word "gorgeous" in the titles. It just seems like such a high standard to aspire to - really, who as the time to be gorgeous these days? But I was intrigued by the premise of her latest eco-friendly DIY manual, Do It Gorgeously, so I happily accepted an invitation to the book launch event.

As her guests munched on tea and cookies at T Salon, Sophie explained the philosophy behind her book: We can make everything from beauty products to household cleaners to baby clothes more affordably, of higher quality and in a more eco-friendly way when we do it ourselves. Further, doing so is joyfully empowering. She intended to put us to work concocting three of the skin care recipes from Do It Gorgeously. On the menu: Vitamin C Serum, Pomegranate Eye Serum and Gentle Facial Exfoliating Scrub. Sophie demonstrated how to make the three beauty concoctions and then sent us off to work stations equipped with all the proper ingredients, bottles and labels so we could make our own. A half hour later, I was on my way home with a bag full of freshly made, completely non-toxic beauty products that would've cost me a fortune at any department store.

The simplest to make (and one that I've found to be remarkably effective at making my skin glow) is the Vitamin C Serum. Sophie explained that vitamin C loses its potency remarkably quickly, so chances are you're wasting your money on store-bought serums. The best approach is to buy the ingredients yourself and mix it up in small batches to use within a couple of weeks. And you'll save a ton of dough in the process. Here's the recipe:

Dissolve 1/4 tsp L-ascorbic acid (AKA vitamin C - available in powder form at most drugstores and health food stores) in 1 tsp distilled water.

Once dissolved, mix in 1 tsp vegetable glycerin (also available at health food stores).

Pour into a dark glass bottle and store up to one month in the refrigerator. This serum can be used under your moisturizer every morning and evening.

Note: If you prefer to use completely natural ingredients (L-ascorbic acid is made in a lab), you can use Camu Camu powder in place of the L-Ascrobic acid. Camu Camu is a superfruit that's insanely high in vitamin C and is also available at health food stores.

I am endlessly inspired by the tips and recipes in Do It Gorgeously and can't recommend the book highly enough; I'm even buying copies for my friends so that we can pool our resources to buy all of our ingredients and then have beauty product-making parties. If you purchase the book on Amazon.com, 10 percent of the profit will be donated to Canwerlink, an organization that provides free non-toxic housecleaning services to cancer patients.