At BBHK we care about what we put into our bodies.  We try to eat well, we try to exercise and we try (but don’t succeed) in not drinking too much, but what about the chemicals we put onto our skin hidden in our beauty products?  One of the most worrying of these chemicals are Phthalates, which are commonly found in nail-varnish, which is linked to fertility issues, problems in developing babies and birth defects.  Would we really be having those regular mani-pedis if we knew it could be harming our future babies?
SpaRitual, vegan based nail lacquers have the answer.  They are free from Formaldehyde, Phythaltes, and Toulene, and any other harmful chemicals that can be found in other varnishes, therefore are completely safe for pregnant woman, and women in general.  If that is not enough to make you sing from the roof, the packaging is created by the designer of Ferrari.  Its all the rage in Hollywood amongst green conscious stars such as Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston, and it is now here in The HK.

We visited the Sense of Touch Central store to trial the varnish, and to see if it matched up to our beloved OPI.  As one of the oldest spas in the group,  from the outside it does not look as elegant or spacious as some of its sister properties.  Yet I was surprised how cosy and bright the Arbutnot Road spa was.  Once inside the spa is decorated in hues of cream reds, with a moroccan inspired vibe.  The staff were so friendly, and genuinely close, that it had a real family feel, and I loved it.

The super sweet Kabita &  Netra simultaneously performed my mani/pedi and we all giggled and chatted the way though like old friends.  Now the important part, the Sparitual varnishes.  As I was presented with my colour options, I did feel quite limited.  I am used to the vast spectrum of colours offered by the likes of OPI, but with Sparitual there were only a handful of colours to choose from.  That said, they were all lovely, and the staple colours one would normally choose anyway.  The whole product line was used, ie base coat, main colour, top coat and also foot rubs and moisturisers.  The varnishes did not have an overpowering smell, and my nails looked lovely after.  The top coat was not quite as shiny as the OPI counterpart, yet it was still sparkly and lovely.  The staying power of the products was great, maybe not quite as long as OPI, possibly due to the lack of some chemical, but if i have to choose from the health of my baby, or a day longer of nail polish, I know what I would choose.

Where?

SpaRitual is available in Sense of Touch LKF, Arbuthnot and Discovery Bay, as well as in  Harvey Nichols、Seibu in Admiralty and FACES in Tsim Sha Tsui.

How much?

In the Arbuthnot Road branch a manicure costs $170, pedicure $290

Set back in a discrete leafy lane, a few hops from Star Street lies Wanchai’s best hidden secret.  A new boutique beauty spa and nail salon set over two floors, offering fabulous OPI centric treatments and spa treatments including massages, facials and waxing Iyara Wanchai, sister to the Central escalator branch, is the new kid on the ever-growing Wanchai block, set in a surprisingly serene and relaxing location, up a cobbled stepped street, overlooking trees and greenery.

Decorated in aqua and chocolate hues, the welcoming parlour is a complete pleasure and surprise to walk into, and a definite must for lunchtime escapes  for Wanchai workers.  There cant be a better place in the area to spend a lunch break.  Bring in  a sarnie, have a pedi and feel a million miles away from the hussle and bussle of the city below.

Upstairs, the treatment rooms offer all manner of spa services such as really reasonably priced massages, slimming treatments, and waxing, and if they are anything like their mani-pedis, they should be fantastic.

I treated myself to their signature ’spa manicure and pedicure’ which comprises of a really good exfoliating scrub and foot massage, and finished off with a splash of my favourite OPI ‘a good Man-dar-in darling is hard to find’ nail polish..  The expert staff snipped, clipped and filed my talons to perfection, buffed my tired skin with their fantastic ‘milk and honey’ Cuccio scrub, and massaged all the tension I had left away with a great foot massage.

By the time it was over, my tootsies looked and felt divine enough to step onto Cloud 9.

Cost?
Spa Pedicure $330 Spa Manicure $190

Where?
Iyara Wanchai
(Inbetween Star Street and Hopewell Centre off Queen Road East)
Wanchai
Hong Kong

Telephone: +852 2545 8637 / +852 2545 8663
Email: iyara1@biznetvigator.com
Web: www.iyarabeauty.com

Ever lost in Central, looking for a fab little place to have a manipedi, but don’t want to pay extortionate prices, or get a free fungal disease with a dodgy looking local salon?

Well Rainbow Nails might just be the place for you.  Discretely tucked away, high up in a building near H&M you will find Helen Leung and her team at Rainbow Nails.  After ten years in the industry, Helen also is the chief OPI trainer in HK, and regularly runs nail classes in her quaint little shop.

In a strict shoes-off policy, the OPI centric shop is clean, friendly relaxing and very reasonable, not to mention you will have your nails done by one of the best nail technicians in Hong Kong.

Whether you are looking for gel nails, nail art, buffing, french or just a regular manipedi, Rainbow is a fabulous little gem in the middle of the bustling city.

“My nails are always a mess, I never have time to have a manicure”
I decided to try out the O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel nail varnish system, not to be confused with gel nails.  With regular gel nails, you have to have quite a thick layer of gel placed on the nails, generally with extensions, with a reasonable amount of damage to the nails.  This also has to be ‘filled in’ every 3 weeks.  With the new O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel, it is the half-way home between regular nail varnish and gel nails.  It claims not to damage the nails so much as it is a much lighter resin, and essentially a nail varnish, it just coats your nails in a thin layer of coloured gel, so you have shiny beautiful nail polish for three weeks that doesn’t chip!

Rainbow Nails YouTube Channel – OPI Axxuim Removal/Reapplication Demonstration

I personally have very thin nails with short nail beds, and nail varnish just chips off in about twenty minutes.  I am often envious of the beautiful talons I see clawing themselves around town, but I also don’t like the idea of fake nails,  and as I spend a lot of time typing, I can’t handle long nails, so with eighteen colours to choose from, the gel nails seemed to be a fabulous idea. Imagine, beautiful shiny nails, which are stronger than usual, that will stay pristine and chip free for two to three weeks!

The process took about an hour, in which time Leung, expertly applied very thin layers of coloured gel, which were set hard with a UV lamp.  I also had a fabulous manicure, in which Helen used a scary looking electric filer to remove the hard skin.  Much to my initial hesitance, and her reassurance, it was very effective in removing the hard skin without clipping, and possibly cutting my skin.  Helen warned me that if a technician isn’t trained properly to use the electric filer, then they can cause a lot of damage, and that most people don’t know how to use them, so do be cautious when you see them pulled out in less kosher looking salons.

Due to the UV light, my nails were dry as soon as she was finished, so I could go about my day not flapping my hands around like a baby.  “O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel is one of our most popular treatments,’ Helen told me.  “What is so fabulous is that the colour is so shiny and vivid, and lasts for up to three weeks.  You can also paint over it with regular nail varnish if you want to change, and the nail varnish remover  doesn’t remove the gel, just the colour on top”.

I decided to put them to the ultimate test.  I was off to Phuket the next day, and as girls know, nail varnish dies a death on holiday, with sun creams and bug sprays disintegrating them, as quickly as we paint them, they quickly start to get sticky and dull.  But with the OPI Axxium Gel Nail Varnish there was no such problem.  My nails stayed as shiny and perfect as they were when I walked out of Rainbow Nails.  Three weeks later, they still looked amazing, even though they had ‘grown out’ a bit.

The Upkeep
As you cant remove the gel yourself, you have to go back to the salon to get them soaked off, or topped up, whichever you prefer.  In the nature of research I soaked them, which took about half an hour, and also comprised of a mini-manicure and buff to remove the flaked top layer of nail. This is where I personally had a bit of a problem.  As my nails are unusually thin, I did sustain a bit of damage for the procedure.  I found for the next six weeks, my nails were flaky and even more brittle than normal.  However I have had acrylic nails in the past, and the damage was no way as much as before.  Helen advised me to rub nail oil on them, and keep them painted, which I did, but I was left longing to put the O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel  back on.  I had my fix, now I wanted another hit.

Conslusion:
I would 100% recommend Rainbow nails and Helen for all nail treatments.  With regards to the O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel system, even though I had a small issue when they were removed I think it is a fabulous, but addictive product.   I would do it again, especially if I had a holiday to go on, or maybe a wedding to go to, but as I wouldn’t want to keep going back every three weeks, and it did slightly damage my nails, I wouldn’t do it regularly.   Very few people have nails as thin as mine, so I don’t think the damage would be noticeable at all.  However if you do have very thin nails like myself, do consider the constant upkeep or the damage after.  If you seem to find that you are too busy to ever get your nails done, and you are constantly embarrassed of your hands, then I think the O.P.I Axxium Soak Off Gel system might be perfect for you.

How Much?
Rainbow nails regularly have promotions and special offers for returning customers, so do join their mailing list to in informed, but at the time of going to press the cost is:
For two treatments-
Hands: was $1,150 now $1,000
Feet: was $1,550  now $1,400

Where?
Address : Unit 503, 5/F., Canton House,   54-56 Queen’s Road Central,   H.K.
Telephone : (852) 2840 0660
Website : http://www.rainbownails.com.hk/
Email : rainbownails@rainbownails.com.hk

No, it’s not a dodgy sex position, showing up all over tinsel town and the catwalks this season it’s the new nail trend of the moment, -the Reverse French Manicure.  Dita Von Tease has been sporting  back-to-front coloured talons for quite a while, and its only a matter of time until the look hits ‘the HK’.  Be the envy of town by following BeautybuzzHK’s own guide to the Reverse French Manicure.

The Reverse French manicure

A look hailing from the 30’s is  back with a bang.  The 1930’s lady usually painted just the middle of the nail leaving the tip and moon bare.  Painting an entire nails was considered OTT, and nice girls didn’t do it!  Well we ARE nice girls, so for 2010’s version, try clashing colours from OPIs new fabulous ‘Hong Kong’ inspired range such as ‘Suzi says Feng Shui’ and ‘Jade is the new black’

1. Start by filiing all your nails to the same length, remember to only file in one direction.
2. Apply a good quality base coat.
3. Take the lighter colour of your two choices, and paint two coats on your nails, and leave them to dry well.
4. Apply some french manicure guides, these are crescent shaped sticker templates that can be found in Watsons, Mannings, Sasa or Bonjour.  Place these on the base of your nails, by your cuticle,  not the end as it says on the packet.
5. Now paint two coats of the darker of your two colours on your nails and over your nails guides.  When your polish is touch-dry, carefully peel off the manicure guides.
6. Finish off with a good shiny top coat.

For a more conventional take on this look, start with a white base coat, and paint a great shocking red like ‘Red my Fortune Cookie’ from Opi, or just do a normal back to front French.

Hectic Hong Kong life leaves most of us feeling frazzled, tired, and stressed, surely there can’t be a better way to relax, unwind and spend a totally selfish day being pampered from tip-to-toe, and be treated like the queen that you are for a day?

The Retreat in Repulse Bay has the answer.  Their signature treatment ‘Queen for a Day’ promises to indulge you in chocolate decadence, complete with body treatment and facial followed by a simultaneous manicure and pedicure to complete your day fit for a queen.

The Venue
Somewhat hard to find, The Retreat is situated on Beach Road, which is a hard left turn off Repulse Bay Road.  The rather irritable belching taxi driver dropped me off by 7-11, which at first glance does not look like a likely venue for a A-grade spa, but as we all know looks can be deceiving.  Upon entering The Retreat, I was greeted by a bright and airy reception.  One can immediately tell that no expense was spared in the design and interior of The Retreat, it is simply beautiful.   Its calm simplicity is where it differs from every other spa I have visited in Asia. Rather than going down the Asian zen-like interior route, the design team at The Retreat have opted for a clean, crisp, almost Miami beach chic, without a Buddha or a bong in sight.  The reception is also home to a Tony & Guy hair salon, and a fabulous health conscious cafe which offers a variety of snacks, salads, and home made smoothies and juices, the perfect compliment to a health spa.  The only shame is the window situation which I was assured is in the process of being fixed.  Running the whole length of the property will be floor to ceiling windows with unparalleled panoramic views overlooking Repulse Bay.  These are currently walled up due to planning bureaucracy, but once these are opened, The Retreat will have one of the best views in Hong Kong.

Mini Aura-Soma Introduction
My Therapist Carol first lead me into a room filled with hundreds of back-lit, beautiful dual coloured bottles.  Every colour combination conceivable was on view for me to choose from.  I was told to chose the four bottles that appealed to me the most, then Carol would be able to tell me about my personalty, talents, present situation and potential.  By interpreting the colours I chose,  Carol was able to tell me that I was very chilled out, relaxed, and happy.  I would expect that a beauty and spa writer would be very chilled out, with all the treatments reviewed, otherwise the spas would be doing something very wrong.  She then chose a particular bottle to take into the treatment room, which was to be opened and the colours’ energy was then said to work in alignment with the therapy.  I was also then ‘prescribed’ a certain shower gel which would help me in day to day life.  Although extremely charming, and enjoyable to hear about, I am always rather cautious about delving into ‘fortune telling’, as for the unsound mind, I believe that readings can be detrimental.  I was however assured that this was not fortune telling, but a heavily researched colour therapy that can aide you to a better path.  In fifteen minutes it is hard to tell if this is true, but it left me intrigued and interested to try a full consultation to find out what it is really about.  In the meantime, a little pink bottle came with me into room two…

The Treatment
Once inside the aqua and mosaic room, I derobed and was smothered from head to toe in rich, gooey dark chocolate.  I was then wrapped in cling film and covered in a heated blanket.  Although I was concerned that I would be cooked like a brownie, Carol informed me that the chocolate was extremely good for the skin, and would balance and hydrate my post Phuket sun-snogged skin.  While I was happily cooking, Carol started on the ‘Exotic Moisture Dew Facial’  and head massage, in which I found myself happily snoring.  I was then unwrapped from my cocoon and told to wash off the chocolate, which was a lot harder that I imagined as it was extremely sticky, but once clean my skin was as soft as a baby’s bottom, and left smelling of a bar of Dairy Milk.  Back on the bed I was treated to a collagen eye treatment to soothe my dark circles, and was sent back into a delirious snooze.  I was once again woken up, and left to dress.  I was then lead into the nail parlour, which hopefully soon will have the wonderful floor-to-ceiling windows.  Sitting in one of the most ingenious pedi-chairs I have ever seen, I had a coral pink OPI pedicure, which by all accounts was one of the best I have ever had.

The Conclusion
I was literally floating when I left The Retreat, the delicate smell of the chocolate on my skin seemed to continue my state of relaxation, more than the usual smell of aromatherapy oil that lingers after a treatment.  My skin felt ridiculously soft and fabulous, my eye bags didn’t seem as prominent as usual, and my toes looked beautiful.  I’m yet to decide if the little pink Aura-Soma bottle in the room added to the effect, but I went to sleep feeling somewhat royal and not wanting my day to end.

The Retreat details here
Queen for a Day  175 mins $tbc
Collegen Eye Treatment 30 mins $tbc

This promotion is currently closed, however if the current state of the angry volcano is anything to go by, Hong Kong may have more extra-time visitors soon!  If you are stuck in town, the offer will still stand…

Staying yet another night in a hotel?  Feel like you are outstaying your welcome as guests? Missing your best friend’s wedding or the business meeting of a lifetime? 

Thanks to the Icelandic Eyjafjallajokul volcano eruption disruption, the chances are you’ll be hanging around in Hong Kong for another week or so at least.

And that’s no bad thing! Trust us – we’re the experts in all things chilled in HK.

While the airlines do their best to bring the world at 40,000 feet back to normal, BBHK has the perfect addition to an extended break with exclusive spa deals in the top joints around town for stranded fliers.  Turn a negative into a positive, and feel your stress float away with discounted pampering all over Hong Kong.   You will be relaxed and destressed quicker than you can say Eyjafjallajokul. Boom.  Its a win-win situation.  Hurrah for BeautyBuzz I hear you say!

Take along your eticket, showing your cancellation and mention the volcano promotion to receive discounts at the following fabulous HK spas.  Don’t forget to join the BeautyBuzz members club for free, to be the first to know about exclusive offers.  Join here now.

WANCHAI
Iyara in Wanchai are offering 20% off regular priced services at Iyara Ship Street any weekday. Monday to Fridays only.   Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment

Iyara Wanchai Day Spa
1A, 53 Ship Street
(Inbetween Star Street and Hopewell Centre off Queen Road East)
Wanchai
Tel+852 2545 8637 / +852 2545 8663
Iyara1@biznetvigator.com
www.iyarabeauty.com

CENTRAL
All the Sense of Touch Spas in Central are offering 20% off facial, massage, signature treatments and waxing.  Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment

Sense of Touch Lan Kwai Fong Spa
1-5/F, 52 D’aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central
Tel: 2526 6918

Sense of Touch Hollywood Road Spa
83A Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2517 0939

Sense of Touch Arbuthnot Road Spa
Lower Ground Floor, The Ovolo, 2 Arbuthnot  Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2869 0939

SOHO
DK Aromatherapy are offering 20% off all regular priced services.  Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment.  Read DK Aromatherapy review here.

DK Aromatherapy
G/F, 16A Staunton Street, Soho,
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2771 284

TSIMSHATSUI
The Mira Spa in the Mira Hotel are offering 20% off from Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm.  Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment.

The Mira Hong Kong
118 Nathan Road
Tsimshatsui
Kowloon
Hong Kong
Tel +852 2368 1111
www.themirahotel.com

REPULSE BAY
The Retreat is offering 15% off all services.  Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment.  See The Retreat reviews here and here

The Retreat
1/Floor, 33 Beach Road
Repulse Bay
Hong Kong
T: (852) 2803 1860
www.the-retreat.com.hk
info@the-retreat.com.hk

DISCOVERY BAY
The Sense of Touch Spa is offering 20% off facial, massage, signature treatments and waxing.  Show your eticket and mention the volcano special when booking the appointment

Sense of Touch Discovery Bay Spa
140A-1, 1st floor, Block C, DB Plaza, 
Discovery Bay, Lantau Island. 
(opp. Sunshine Kindergarden)
Tel: 2987 9198

All salons have the right to change or cancel the offers at their own discretion,