You’d love to indulge in a full day of beauty, but as a busy executive all you can spare is an extended lunch hour for a manicure and pedicure. Or as an uber-Mom you can’t sneak away for an entire Saturday, but certainly can get a babysitter to cover for you while you sneak in a facial. Or maybe you’re a stressed-out charity event co-chair in need of a massage and manicure, but you have to pick just one. Well, ladies, you can have it all –the facial, massage, manicure, and pedicure in an hour-and-a-half in Marblehead. (Skip the polish and it’s a quick indulgence for guys on the go too.)
As a pioneer in the day spa industry since 1983, Dayle Ciampa, owner and founder of Dayle’s European Skin Care, knows that women wish for a full fluff-and-buff program but all too often have to limit their selection of services due to time constraints. So when she recently expanded and redesigned her 261 Washington Street facilities, she added four state-of-the-art chairs that allow teams of three technicians to simultaneously provide a condensed version of a day of beauty, she calls Queen (or King) for a Day.
The chair is multifunctional. A section is removed to expose the foot spa, then replaced during the leg and foot massage. The armrest pops open, inviting you to soak your hands prior to your arm massage and manicure. The chair’s upper half reclines so the esthetician can easily maneuver the high-tech equipment over you to conduct the facial; later it’s elevated as she gives you Dayle’s signature head, neck, and shoulder massage.
But enough about the chair. As in any service encounter, it’s the people who ensure a satisfactory experience. While conducting the first half of the unique service, Nury, Nayith, and Leslie were as playful and cheery as the cherry polish we chose to paint my fingers and toes. The effect was a joyful sense of a “big girl party” at which I was the lucky birthday girl. Then, as if at the direction of an invisible conductor, the trio of technicians transitioned into a meditative silence that inspired me to escape into that magical place of spa-dom. Buffed, fluffed, and relaxed, I was ready to enjoy the generous remains of the day.