Granite City, IL Beauty and Salons

Imagine someone approaches with a smoothie made of organic peaches, blueberries, or mangoes, but instead of offering you a taste they gently spread its contents across your forehead and massage the sweet aromas into your skin. This surreal daydream happens daily at Pure Elegance Spa, where aestheticians devoted to organic skincare nourish complexions with their six signature fruit-smoothie facials and other treatments designed to nurse skin to optimal health. Oxygen therapy revives dull skin in tandem with parsley and cucumber, and microdermabrasion promotes cellular turnover deep within the dermis using an exfoliant of pears and poppy seeds. Beyond edible ingredients, many services also blend in products by Éminence Organic Skin Care—a Hungarian line that heals signs of aging and ushers toxins from the face and body without relying on chemicals or additives.

Those who prefer to save their appetite for later can skip the chocolate and margarita manicures in favor of airbrush makeup or waxing services that clear away fuzz on the face and body. Ocular enhancements include Xtreme Lashes eyelash extensions that add natural-looking drama, as well as an eye rescue treatment that aims to save peepers from puffiness, crow's feet, and madcap pokes from nearby Stooges.

The Rat Pack members were known for their smooth tunes, charming personalities, and classic style. When they visited St. Louis, the quintet kept themselves looking sharp with trips to a barbershop tucked inside the basement of the historic Chase Park Plaza. Though the original barbershop is long gone, Cutters & Co. picked up the slack, and today its staff carries on the tradition at the original barbershop's location. Cutters opened in true Rat Pack style on Frank Sinatra's 90th birthday, providing the community with artful male grooming, including expert haircuts that come with a scalp massage, a shampoo, and a Sammy Davis, Jr.–mustache application. The shop's signature service encompasses a haircut, a hot-towel facial, and a chair massage. Guests are even encouraged to kick back with a complimentary beer from Cutters' fully stocked cooler of seasonal brews. Past brands have included Corona for Cinco de Mayo, Schlafly summer lager to kick off summer 2012, and Budweiser as a tribute to the Rat Pack's favorite drink.

The experienced nail technicians at Yoga Spa & Nails tend to extremities with yoga-themed manicures and pedicures. Treatments with names such as Yoga Learn and Yoga Meditation lavish nails with fresh coats of polish and massage hands stressed from constantly squeezing stress balls. Alternatively, acrylics or Shellac manicures enhance nails’ appearance and protect them from chipping. The staff’s expertise extends beyond the hands and feet during waxing treatments that swipe away hair from the brows, lips, and chin.

The skilled cosmetologists, nail technicians, and massage therapists at Trendy Nails & Spa cultivate an atmosphere of comfort and relaxation every day of the week. On weeknights, they welcome visitors until 8 p.m., when the mayor comes out to sing the city to sleep. The staff performs manicures with vivid hues from OPI, and banishes tension from backs in a private massage room.