Wedding Blog

My skin is a mess. Let’s just say my face is not reacting particularly well to the stress I’ve been enduring… or the fact that my monthly visitor is in town… or the summer sweat and heat… or life in general. It’s a gosh darn mess and I needed to end the vicious cycle before it got any worse.

That’s why I escaped in the middle of the day yesterday to get myself a facial, and fast! I really have no excuse as to why I didn’t go get one earlier (especially since I live steps away from Bliss), except that I usually have trouble spending money to primp myself. I wanted to get the job done without the frills, but also wanted to make sure that the results would be good enough to last until next week (and beyond!). So, I went to Santa Monica and visited the Dermalogica spa on Montana Avenue.

The flagship spa for the skin product brand is a pretty simple but elegant store with the spa “pods” in the second half of the building. They only offer two treatments: the face treatment and the thermal back treatment. I, of course, opted for the face, since my back will be covered by my veil all night long.

The face treatment
Professional double cleansing, exfoliation, galvanic or high frequency electrocurrent (if needed), extractions, masque, hand, arm and shoulder massage, toner, moisturizer, solar defense.
time: 60 minutes
price: $85

You can add on little “touch therapies” for $15 each that add to the spa experience… but I just need to get my skin fixed, so I passed on the extras.

When you check in, you fill out an extensive two-page survey about your skin and other life habits that might contribute to its well-being. You’re then escorted by the clinician to your room. The spa treatment is conducted in a little white pod that is completely enclosed as a room, with music playing and color therapy lights that change the entire aura of the room. You change into a sarong and the therapist selects music, based on the preference you indicated on your little survey, and 60 minutes of relaxation begins.

The “pods”

Inside the pods

I honestly didn’t think it was going to be as spa-like as it was…but I don’t think I’ll be venturing anywhere OTHER than Dermalogica for a treatment in the future. At the end of the appointment, the consultant went through a recommended skin regimin, with no pressure to buy anything. I bought some basic cleansers, and also got lots of little samples to use for the wedding day preparations with my purchase. Overall, I was really happy with how my skin felt, and today I woke up with a glowing happy face.

(p.s. If you have a KCRW fringe benefits card you’ll get 15% off treatments)

Dermalogica on Montana
1022 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 260-8682