Urban Spa-di-da

The holiday season can be stressful even for the most seasoned of shoppers. While weaving through the crowds, shoulders hunched with shopping bags and mind- crazed, striving for nothing but the perfect gift for your 50 "close" friends – don’t be surprised if your body conks out on you.

Aside from switching religions and disowning Christmas, the next easy step for holiday sanity is treating that weary soul of yours to some TLC. Who can ever say no to some serious kick-ass pampering? As tempting as it may sound it is also time-consuming to kick off your heels and relax in an out-of-the-way oasis.

Day spas have become a part of an ever-increasing trend to attend to the needs of any card swiping/bargain-hunting soldier. With spas opening left and right it’s easy to surmise that they are all the same. This is when you have to take a closer look at the menu and see that the spas have gotten to be a little more creative. And nothing is more inspired than Urban Spa, which features a service menu catering to any massage whore’s wet dreams.

Tessa Prieto-Valdes, fun fashion maven and interior decorator, co-owns Urban Spa along with Irene Canlas-Ibañez and succinctly explains why she chose this business. "I am a massage and facial addict. It’s like an alcoholic opening a bar."

Indeed, it has all the cocktails that will surely satisfy and even surprise any seasoned spa junkie. Take the double massage, which I can say is my own version of real good porn. "Two masseuse in synch working on my back, legs, arms. An amazing one hour of de-stress," notes Tessa. Irene also gives us the rundown of the packages available for those who want the full monty. "Executive Bliss is a perfect beauty on the run solution. Thirty minutes of gentle body scrub with earth sea salts mixed with pure virgin and essential oils. Thirty minutes of soothing Swedish massage on the back, neck, shoulder and scalp areas. Thirty minutes mini facial using Ingrid Millet’s Marinea product. As in Heaven is a complete head to toe pampering treat, body scrub with hair spa and milk bath plus Le Urban Spa signature massage with a Moon and Ocean Facial Treatment. Heavenly! And up until the year ends, we will give 20 percent off on the aromatherapy massage when they get the service with a facial treatment." For those with less time in their hands Tessa suggests some effective quickies to perk you up "The 20-minute Express Massage works on your upper body, back, shoulder, arms, neck, and scalp. Also, the foot reflexology is a must-try! Thirty minutes in a private room."

The Ingrid Millet products are already a sleeper hit with many beauty aficionados, it’s also the mainstay product of many of the treatments offered in the spa. "The IM products are from Paris. There are four product lines – Perle de Caviar is the top of the line for mature skin, White Control for lightening and anti-pigmentation, Source Pure is the aromatherapy line for sensitive skin, and Marinea is for all skin types," Irene explains.

Aside from the top-of the-line products, the ambience of the spa is unpararelled with its original and fresh décor done of course by no other than Tessa. "It’s French provincial – wholesome, definitely not Zen-type, not minimalist at all," describes Tessa. The warm yellows and soothing blue tones can lull any frayed nerve into a state of relaxation. The feel of the place is absent of any cold or clinical edges, rather it is like getting treatments in a home based environment.

But aside from the nirvana that one can achieve in this sanctum of peace and serenity, one may avail of excellent skin treatments that go beyond the run-of-the-mill spa treatments. Dr. Clare Palabyab, a well-known dermatologist, comes in every Wednesday morning, and checks all her patient’s skin free of charge.) If one still feels uneasy about getting skin fix (botox injections, for example) in a spa. "Skin care in a clinic always has a doctor present and they can handle aside, from skin care, different diseases and skin conditions. In a spa, treatments given are mostly for skin maintenance and enhancement," explains Dr. Palabyab. "As long as a doctor is present to administer the treatments, there shouldn’t be a problem. The doctor can also help train the therapists as to how to do the treatment properly in case the doctor is not around," she adds. She also sheds light on the concern of many women about using products that are used in the spa for their effectiveness or having an allergic reaction to it. "Generally if you use products that are manufactured by reputable skin-care companies, you can be sure that the products have undergone dermatologic testing. The problem usually arises when your skin reacts to a certain ingredient contained in the product. The term ‘hypoallergenic’ does not mean non-allergenic. This means that it is still possible to have an allergic reaction to that particular product. Hypoallergenic only implies that there are less allergic reactions in a greater number of people tested. You can check for allergies by observing if there is any adverse reaction such as redness, stinging, itchiness, rashes and break out of pimples and/or white heads. Some reactions can be immediate while others may occur several weeks later." She adds that the skin problems of most women lie in their misuse of certain products. "Many women who consult for skin problems actually have conditions that were caused either by using the wrong products or by self-medicating. Some women with oily skin/acne think that they still need a moisturizer for the whole face even if their faces are oozing with oil. Others use astringents that dry the skin even if their skin was already dry to begin with. Using steroid creams for acne will only aggravate the condition. Other common mistakes include scrubbing the skin in sensitive areas such as armpits and the groin, hoping to lighten dark or pigmented skin. Another common mistake specially among teenagers is pricking or ‘popping’ their pimples by themselves which can lead to infection and permanent scarring."

After all the aahs and has that Urban Spa has to offer it is punctuated by a last stroke of genius. The spa carries food from Struan and Tang (try the lemongrass iced tea!). So don’t wrestle with your stress, surrender to the joys of pleasure found in the candlelit oasis that is Urban Spa.

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Urban Spa is located at the fifth floor of Shangri-La Edsa Plaza mall. Call numbers 687-6195 to 96.