the emery board

courtesy of dermalogica

You have your brow wax appointment that you have been looking forward to for weeks. Your brows are out of control and taking over your face and you cannot wait to have gorgeous arches again. Your esthetician leads you into the waxing room and the sound of running water and woodwind instruments readies you for your treatment. “Are you using any exfoliants or acne medications?” she asks you. You reflect on the glycolic and retinol treatments you have been using at home, or the peel you at the dermatologist’s office two weeks ago and reply, “no.”

Your brows are cleaned and prepped and finally you feel the warm wax being spread across your skin. Once she smooths the muslin, pulls your skin taut, and quickly pulls the strip off, a layer of your skin comes off with it. Now, your brows are partly waxed and you are raw. You then come clean to your esthetician about your exfoliating history, and she is left feeling terrible and legally liable.

This is one example of how lying to your esthetician or dermatologist can go horribly wrong. When a professional asks a question, it is always to give the client the best service possible. Consultations not only help skin therapists make the proper decisions as to what products to use, it also keeps the client safe.

Another example of how lying can go wrong is if you lie about your skin care routine. Do you sleep in your makeup sometimes? Is that one coffee a day you claimed to drink really five? Your skin therapist is asking you about your vitamins, medications, hydration habits, etc so they may effectively diagnose your skin and treat it accordingly. If you aren’t truthful, they may prescribe products that are not addressing your skin’s needs. You are paying $150 for your facial, and the products she chooses, based on the information you gave her, are not going to be helping you. In fact, they might even hurt you. There are many reasons why your skin therapist or dermatologist asks the questions they ask, so make sure you come clean.

So next time you are going to the spa for your peel, wax, or massage, answer all questions honestly. No one will judge you if your idea of water is a Diet Coke or you hate the way sunscreen feels on your skin. Your luminous and non-irritated skin will thank you.

Yesterday, I did something I rarely do.  Yes, I know, you would think that I would get facials all the time, but it is just something I typically skimp on.  However, my friend, and extremely talented hairstylist Amithyst, owner of Amithyst Salon, told me I had to see Reanna for a facial.  Since I am attending the Transformations Gala at the Ritz this weekend, and must look my absolute best, I figured it would be a great time to make my skin glow.

What I expected was a typical facial.  Someone rubs your face with a bunch of products, squeezes your blackheads out in a painful and possibly scarring way, and I leave wondering why I couldn’t have done that myself.

What I got was a pleasant surprise.  Reanna, like her studio, is adorable and welcoming.  Reanna’s facial was relaxing, smoothing, and an utter treat.  My skin felt the softest it has ever felt and I nearly fell asleep while she was massaging all sorts of wonderful feeling and smelling products on my skin.  She left out the extractions, which I appreciated.  I never thought the skin should be squeezed and popped.  With proper exfoliation and moisturizing, blackheads and pimples may heal themselves.

My favorite parts of the experience were the exfoliating ampule and the wonderfully fragrant moisturizer she used to finish the service.  The exfoliant tingled.  I love when I feel a product working!  The moisturizer absorbed in and made my skin feel as soft as a baby’s while the light fragrance stayed with me all day.  Her healing touch left me relaxed for hours afterward.

Reanna uses Dermalogica Professional products and customizes her facials to each individual.  To book with her at her J Street location, call (or text) 916-585-6383.  Have happy skin!

Reanna has moved to The Sterling Hotel! Go see her there, and enjoy her absolutely stunning new location!

Help The Emery Board get 500 fans on Facebook by April 20, and I’ll give away $50 to Sephora to one of the fans! Just go to Facebook and become a fan of The Emery Board! Its the first link under my blogroll.

Happy Sunday, Emery Boarders.  Today, we’re going to take a step away from the positive and take a moment to rant.  I recently read a post that a dear friend and fellow beauty industry insider wrote in response to an experience with an unpleasant client and was inspired to repost it.  Then, I thought that after I posted it, I would also rant about something that has been really bugging me.  So, without further ado, here is her post:

“what’s more important to you, hair or health? believe it or not some people suffer with the internal battle of their hair meaning more to them than their own well being. this is a bit ridiculous and a tiny bit serious… but it’s true. thus being said, if you are either of these types, please… treat your hairdresser with the same respect that you would with your Doc. if we are running 10 measly minutes behind (for reasons unknown to you) give us a break. remember, at a doctor’s office you are probably going to be waiting 15-45 mins for a “ROUTINE” check-up, and i ‘ll betcha that you’d never give the Doc heck for running late or just flat out triple booking you with the rest of the general public. hairdressing may be considered a part of the “service”, retail, artistic/creative, what-have -you, industry… but, it is also extremely different than any of these said industries. a profession all of it’s own, that has a billion options within it. we take pride in our work, we are privileged to have you as a patron just as you are privileged to patronize our place of work. so, please take this into consideration the next time you try to give your hairdresser verbal havoc. this is a very intense, thought-out gift we are giving, even if it seems like it’s a no-brainer/2nd nature process. there is A LOT of behind the scenes work going on to maintain YOUR happiness. one last thing: GIVE YOUR LOCAL BARISTA A BREAK, AS WELL!!!” -anonymous

To add to this, I think its important to be nice to people in general.  We’re not perfect, we’re human, and when it feels so good to have someone forgive us of our imperfections, so too does it feel good to forgive others of theirs.

Now for my rant.  Ke$ha, please stop looking like this.

You are a beautiful young woman, and you are doing yourself a terrible disservice.

Thank you for reading, and happy Sunday.  Back to positivity tomorrow.

You have each won $25 to Sephora courtesy of The Emery Board! Merry Christmas! I’ll be contacting you this week to get you your cards! Thanks for reading and to all who entered! Emery loves her beauties!

Here’s the deal Emery Boarders! Get your friends to come to The Emery Board and comment on this post with your name as well as theirs as the body (make sure you leave me your email so I can contact you!).  On Christmas day, I’ll choose a name at random and you AND your friend will each get $25 to Sephora! Start telling your friends, the more comments with your name, the better your chances are of winning! Good luck beauties, and Merry Christmas!

My shower routine always changes in the winter, and since dry skin seems to plague us all, I thought I might share my in-shower secrets with you to blast away dry skin!  Your scalding hot winter shower doesn’t have to be extremely damaging, and I’m not going to ask you to sacrifice your hot water (I mean, lets be realistic here!) and I am guilty of cranking up the heat too.  Just switch things up a bit to make sure you are taking care of your skin at the same time!

The very first thing I do when I step in the shower is wash and condition my hair.  Once that conditioner is in there, I keep it in for my entire shower.  Your hair suffers a lot in the winter months, and if you can avoid washing it every day, that’s great, and if you can keep your conditioner in as long as possible, even better!  Plus, all the steam helps get those moisturizers in each strand.  While my conditioner sits, I wash my face with a gentle cleanser.  I may exfoliate also, but don’t overdo it in the winter as it can make matters worse.

This next step saves my skin.  I recently purchased Dove Nutrium Deep Moisture Body Wash from my neighborhood Rite Aid and absolutely love it!  I do feel as though it moisturizes quite well.  However, to kick it up a notch, I squirt it on my loofah along with a generous amount of OPI Espresso Scrub which adds an oil and exfoliant that leaves my skin really soft.  Once I rinse that off, I still have a bit of oil on my skin from the scrub, which usually drives me crazy, but I just deal with it, knowing that the results are worth it.  What I love is that its not as oily as it would be alone, and I just cleaned myself all in one step! After that, you can shave etc. (I like to shave with a body oil in the winter, Aveeno makes a nice shower oil) then rinse your conditioner as the last step.

The second I step out of the shower, I pat my face dry and immediately apply my facial moisturizer (I love Ren and Nude products from Sephora).  I then dry off and apply body moisturizer (my favorite of the moment is the OPI Cappuccino Massage).  When you moisturize immediately after your hot shower, your pores are open and you skin is still damp.  Your moisturizer can lock in this water and penetrates into your pores to ensure the more optimum moisturizing possible.

Now that you’re smooth and soft, put your clothes on and get on with your day!

Lola gets.  And this is no exception.  The new frangrance from Marc Jacobs is sold exclusively in Bloomingdales for August (its launch).  The pink pepper, pear, and grapefruit notes of the initial spritz ease into peony, geranium and rose, while base notes of vanilla, musk, and tonka bean make any woman feel like a sex goddess.

Available now at bloomingdales.com with a bonus free gift for purchases over $50! Good timing!