SPA WATCH | Manhattan's Spa Merge

NEW YORK CITY is home to so many spas your head'll spin just trying to make a decision on the fly on which one to visit. They run from high end to low brow, medical, pleasure (no, we don't mean happy ending...), detoxifying, indulgent... all of them exist within the space of one little island. Recently we visited a newish hybrid green-medical Spa Merge on 57th. It's attached to hotel West 57 in an unassuming store front sandwiched between a Duane Reade and the lobby. The spa manager and most of her staff are from a well-known local spa on the Upper East Side and thus the spa has garnered a slew of loyals who have followed them to this corner just a block south of Central Park and we can see why.

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BEAUTY STALKER | Haute beauty buys

1. CHANEL ROUGE COCO IN LA PAUSA | It’s the perfect soft coral for lips during this first flush of spring.
2. ESTEE LAUDER BERLIN RED MIRROR COMPACT | Because we love art in our everyday life and we particularly like a little bit of  bauhaus in our bag. 
3. LA MER THE CONCENTRATE | We weren’t La Mer converts until we this... and now we can’t get enough. Skin looks and feels amazing immediately. We want to stockpile. 
4. JO MALONE VITAMIN E BODY BALM | Because it smells like honied heaven and leaves your skin non-greasy, supple and looking like it’s in soft focus. 
5. CHANEL LE VERNIS IN PARTICULIERE | Because griege is the word in the nails right now and it actually looks fantastic (and fashion forward) on. And GINGER AND LIZ CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET | This teeny tiny label from the US with some spectacular colours to rival the likes of other cult brands.
6. HOURGLASS PRODIGY LIPGLOSS | The wafter-thin packaging is slim enough to fit into the pocket of even the skinniest jeans and it’s packed with the best non-sticky, mineral gloss.
7. MV ORGANICS HAND RESCUE | Tangerine-scented SOS with Rosehip and Calendula to heal even the most chapped hands and cuticles. [not pictured]
8. RMS "UN" COVER-UP | A revelation in raw beauty, it has transformed and simplified makeup. Use it as a concealer or base and rub it in like a moisturiser for a completely toxin-free, raw beauty glow that looks more natural than no makeup.
9. JONATHAN WARD CANDLE | Beautiful British candles with tons of essential oils and a clean burn. We love the Moss.
10. NATURE BISSE C+C VITAMIN SCRUB | How we love a bit of citrus in the spring. It’s refreshing and exfoliating.  
11. SKINCEUTICALS C E FERULIC | This stuff will visibly brighten the skin, in a one-two anti-aging punch. 
12. NATURE GIRL I AM WAVE BATH SALTS | Because it’s the best way to soothe sore muscles from our new exercise routine and relax after a long day of work. 
13. RICH HIPPIE KALACHAKRA | Limited-edition and far beyond my regular budget, I am reveling in the subtle citrus and floral fragrance this tiny bottle packs. It’s surprisingly synthetic free.
14. ELLIS FAAS ELLIS RED | Because the colour is striking on every single person I’ve seen apply it to date. Pure genius.

SEE THE FULL PAGE BEAUTY STALKER HERE.

Tried and tested: evolve beauty eco smart skincare

The panic I felt just days before my most recent trip to London made my ears ring and my skin burn... wait. My skin was burning for other reasons. In fact, it was the impetus for my panic. I was stumped. Why had made my face go red, tight, bumpy and scaly (from temple to nose) and hot (no, not as in Angelina hot... as in to the touch) right before I was meant to board a plane for a week of back-to-back meetings with beauty industry folk?

Two things caused it, I have no doubt. One, my skin went on a 4-month makeup and skincare detox this summer that even the most cosmetic ascetic among us wouldn't be able to maintain by choice. On my around the world honeymoon-in-a-tent, makeup didn't touch my face, nor did anything, really, but a bar of soap and whatever moisturiser I had at hand. This period of skin calm was destroyed by a tsunami of new skincare, makeup and urban living in late October, when, in one fell swoop, I returned to dozens of products. Within a month, my face was radiating heat, the texture and colour angrily undulating and it became painfully clear that spot cream wasn't going to clear it up.

The second thing that dovetailed so conveniently with my hot-and-cold treatment of the cutis, is the onset of a Chicago winter. What on god's green earth keeps people living on such an icy tundra with such poor public transit? It's so cold there's no moisture (it's been at least 15 degrees below freezing for days) in the air. It's also as flat as a dinner plate, so no skiing here and ice rinks are strangely far and few between. It's moisture-free, wind-swept outdoors or drying, heated indoor spaces for me.

But as panicky as I became, it was comforting that my industry of choice wasn't, say, fashion, the most unforgiving (and backwards, in my opinion) of them all. Beauty people are fascinated by conditions and questions and how to fix them. My problem was greeted with genuine interest (not of the schadenfreude variety) and desire to find a solution, on which we all agreed.

It was clear I had to go cold turkey on the beauty bumpf until the flare up subsided and then, gradually, work my way back into a very simplified routine with simple products. An exclusion skincare diet was not on the table as the problem needs to be nipped in the bud immediately. Easier said than done when beauty products are your professional fodder! Facialist Emma Hardie was ardent that I stop using everything and then re-introduce slowly, and she was absolutely right.

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