Remember when you first experienced the wonder of digital music how completely and utterly rudimentary that old Sony Walkman of yours suddenly seemed? Well, that's exactly how you'll feel about your regular ole lotion and potion facial after you've treated yourself to Spa Radiance's high-tech Instant Lift Facial. Think of it as the 80-gigabyte iPod of facials. Yes, it really is that revolutionary.
Touted as a 'non-surgical face lift", this treatment doesn't just promise to firm your cheeks, lift your brows, and soften the lines around your eyes and mouth, it delivers. Visibly, dramatically, and astonishingly so, in fact. I may have climbed under the cozy comforter of that spa table a skeptic, but I emerged as nothing less than the most giddy and glowing of believers. Honestly, one look in the mirror afterwards (not that you'll be able to limit yourself to just one, of course, after such a transformation) is to see the face you had five years ago. You know, the one you didn't appreciate at the time but would be grateful for now, lo these five, gravity-weighted years later? With Spa Radiance's Instant Lift Facial, you can get just such a second chance.
Before and After Treatment: Note in particular the change evident in her cheek, brow and jowl areas
I booked my appointment with Anastasia, an elegant and engaging Russian woman whose fingers swirled across my face with the balletic grace of a Bolshoi dancer. First up? A lovely lemon-scented cleanse and good old-fashioned steam. It was as this balmy blast of air blanketed my face that Anastasia treated me to some extra pampering with a relaxing hand massage. Blissed-out as I was, I tensed back up the moment I heard the steamer being clicked off and the giant magnifying glass ratcheting into place' the time for extractions had come. Ordinarily, this is a painful affair for me, but under Anastasia's deft touch, the extractions proved to be less a wince-inducing squeeze than a kind and gentle nudge. Never before had this necessary evil felt, well, less evil. It was downright comfortable. And thorough, too. This woman surveys your pores with the meticulous eye of a C.S.I. forensics team. She misses nothing. I was impressed.
W-o-w. Indeed, the brow on that side was higher, the apple of my cheek more defined, my crows feet less visible, and the jowliness near my mouth and neck g-o-n-e (if you don't know what 'jowliness' is, you clearly haven't turned 35 yet). Carry on, Anastasia! With my skepticism as far gone as my wrinkles, I laid back down, my mind suddenly consumed with feverish calculations on how I might work this treatment into my monthly budget.
So here's the thing: not only is this the 80-gigabyte iPod of facials, at $250, it costs about as much. While one treatment alone lasts about a month, the ideal maintenance regimen is as follows: a treatment once a week for a month, then just once a month from there on out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some numbers to run'
