Have a Perfectly Beautiful Day
It doesn’t take much to make a woman feel like a lemon on a used-car lot--a couple of chipped nails, a centimeter of untamed roots, a gnarly knot in the shoulder blades and suddenly she’s yesterday’s Yugo. A dedicated day of beauty is the perfect tuneup to get a woman back in Cadillac mode.
Every woman needs to be spoiled to the core now and then, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. We asked four L.A. women from four walks of life what they do to pamper themselves.
The Artist
Joanie Hotchkis, a seasoned performance artist and actress, prefers the briny waters of the Beverly Hot Springs, a natural mineral hot spring and spa hidden in the center of L.A.
“They soap you up and slather you in oil and milk,” she says.
The spa offers massage, facials, aromatherapy and all sorts of delicious scrubs and treatments, which can easily fill an afternoon. Hotchkis also includes meditation and gentle exercise in her day of beauty--a Pilates session or a long walk on the beach.
The Spiritualist
The oceans and canyons of Southern California offer a free, open-air spa to those who eschew traditional beauty routines. Ruth Barrett, the religious director at Circle of Arcadia, a women’s spirituality nonprofit organization, includes this natural environment in her day of beauty when she walks through the hills near her Topanga Canyon home.
“I pay attention to the colors in the sky, the rising of the moon, the flowers,” she says. “I open up and feel myself a part of this world.”
To feel out of this world, she opts for a massage and foot rub at Topanga Chiropractic. Before the day is done, Barrett blesses herself while sitting in front of the mirror.
“For many women, the mirror is an enemy,” she says.
By facing the mirror and blessing her body as divine and sacred, Barrett conquers that enemy.
The Athlete
Penny Toler, a guard for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, spends so much of her time conquering enemies that she prefers to spend a day with friends. Her day starts early, ends late and makes time for Jerry Springer in the middle.
Aside from the appointments with her television, Toler keeps her day unstructured. Her routine is simple--no manicure (the other players might rib her for being prissy), a quick pedicure with toenails painted purple (in honor of the Sparks) and a haircut (something “short and cute”). She prefers the handiwork at the Smooth as Silk salon.
“We just hang out and talk for hours there,” she says. “Sometimes I don’t even get my hair done!”
The Glamour Girl
Nineties-style wash-and-go beauty routines are not for hypnotist and burlesque producer Michelle Carr.
“It would be more convenient,” she says, but getting dolled up makes her feel “more complete.”
Carr’s transformation process is one part ritual, one part artistry and one part nostalgia, even on a regular day. But she still gives in to extra indulgences from time to time--a professional massage, a few hours at Hairdooz in Silver Lake and a luxurious bubble bath.
Whatever it takes to get back on the road to feeling foxy, carpe diem bellus! Slap a bit of Dead Sea mud over that scowl, and pay some talented fingers to play Chopin on your shoulders. You only live once.