Spa Love: Red Door Spa – San Fransisco…

A Mommy needs a little “me time” to keep one’s sanity afloat, and what better place to have said “me time” than the Red Door Spa! My saucy sister “The Makeup Girl” generously gave me a gift certificate for a fabulous “Champagne and Rose Manicure” that came in the cutest red box with a white bow that looked like a little red door! I have only been to the New York City Red Door, and that was amazing, so now that I live outside of San Francisco, I was excited to try the one on 126 Post Street in the city.

It was a balmy 70 degrees in Marin, and I bounced out of the house with a short sleeved dress and sandals on. Luckily I had a coat and my UGG boots in the car, y’all, because it was foggy and FREEZING in the city! When I went over the bridge there was so much fog, that there was barely any visibility. You could only see the top part of the Golden Gate Bridge, and everything else is just a sea of FOG. It was quite beautiful and terrifying at the same time, like you are floating in midair. It took forever to get across, and what should have took 15 minutes has taken far more. I phoned Red Door (on the speakerphone of course, darlings!) to tell them I might be 5- 10 minutes late, and a voice smooth as silk lets me know no worries, I’m the last appointment of the day, and to relax and she’d let my stylist know. Now there’s only one thing that feels worse to me than being late, and that’s the dentist, so for someone to be able to calm me down in the midst of major Catholic guilt and stress is a minor miracle.  She was very kind and understanding.

I get to the garage to park, and the ticket machine is broken! AAAH! Will I ever get to the Spa?? Finally the guy comes down to give me a ticket and I finally get there.  My stress level is through the roof! All I want to do is cry, and turn around and go home when I see the beautiful angel receptionist Cassandra (complete with halo!), who tells me everything is going to be okay and to relax and let them take care of me.  I see another angel before me, my nail stylist, and her name is Thuy!

The amazing Thuy, (pronounced TWEE) is from Vietnam, and quite possibly the best nail stylist I have ever experienced, and I have had international professionals in the modeling world do my nails, honey! She made me feel like a QUEEN as she melted away my bags of toddler stress and phantom bridge anxiety with her soothing voice and gracious manner. The salon was elegant and well appointed, with gorgeous leather easy chairs for you to sink into and lay back. I sat down and she put a pillow in my lap and a heated beanbag pillow around my neck. Heaven! Some of what came next might be in the wrong sequence, because she reduced me into a puddle of nonsense!

The wonderful and delicately fragranced “champagne and rose” scrub and lotion  were expertly applied and massaged into my skin and removed with thick hot towels leaving my arms glowing. She went a step further and plunged my hands and forearms in individual bags filled with hot paraffin wax which was an amazingly warm squishy feeling. I feel it is far more enjoyable and sanitary than other treatments I have had where you  simply dip your hands in wax others may have have used. She then massaged the stress from my hands and forearms which relaxed me incredibly, and also to my delight, my shoulders. As she felt my toddler knots she told me “You need more massage!” She is very right about that, and we had a good laugh! She was so friendly and easy to talk to, and we talked about travel and other things like family. She said I should hurry and visit Vietnam, because it is changing rapidly and not for the better, she fears. To many high buildings and not enough ocean breezes that she remembers from her childhood.

I chose to have a french manicure which is my true test for excellence, and Thuy does it the subtle way which doesn’t leave the stark white line which can look tacky and fake. Very classy and gorgeous! I notice they have a lot of Zoya polish, and I tell her my sister has a Zoya polish named after her. She asks me her name, and when I tell her Lianne, she knows exactly which polish it was! She memorized all the colors…what dedication! All in all, my experience at the Red Door Spa, San Francisco, was a first class ticket to a relaxation paradise complete with angels of mercy! I went in with a bag of rocks on my back, and left with a pep in my step and a glide in my stride! A Spa should leave you feeling transformed and renewed, and Red Door far surpassed my expectations. When in San Francisco, book ahead for an appointment with Thuy, the Goddess of all manicurists. Expect a trip to relaxation pamperville…and tell them Stasi from The Makeup Girl sent you!

Red Door Spa San Francisco
126 Post Street
San Francisco, CA  94108
(415) 989-4888

Spa Pretty!

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Stasi Glenn-Connolly is a beauty junkie, actor and musician living in the Bay area with her husband, son and dog Lily. She smears on creams, lotions and makeup on a regular basis and is an avid devotee to the house of Chanel.

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