Los Angeles Spa and Massage

In his early days as a massage therapist, Sean Struxness was struck by the stark contrasts in quality between high-end and low-end spas, noticing a large gap between the two. He founded The Massage Spot to fill that gap, partly because he no longer wanted to mow the gap's out-of-control grass. Though it forgoes the locker rooms and showers that full day spas may offer, Struxness's mini day spa doesn't skimp on the tranquil atmosphere, as it features flickering candles, soothing music, and a relaxing zen area. The service menu isn't lacking, either; The Massage Spot's team of professionals performs haircuts and deep conditionings, nine types of facials, spa pedicures with aromatherapy soaks, and Western and Eastern styles of massage therapy.

At Beauty by Marina, steady-handed professional makeup artist and eyebrow-shaping specialist Marina enhances clients’ natural features with artistic daytime and evening looks for weddings and other special occasions. After consulting with clients, Maria sharpens ocular over-scores and finishes foundation with striking or subtle hues and vibrant shimmers to create dramatic looks for strutting down a red carpet, aisle, or airport moving walkway.

Lauded on the pages of Fit magazine, as well as on computer screens on LA.com and TVs on E! News, Vida Emanuel European Day Spa has garnered well-deserved attention for 25 years. The spa’s owner opened her namesake beauty haven to provide locals of Beverly Hills and beyond with expertly executed skin and body services. Amid an elegant space embellished with gold accents, Emanuel’s highly trained crew of Certified Aesthetic Consultants, massage therapists, and laser specialists gets to work perfecting exteriors with more than 15 skin treatments, many of which feature Emanuel’s personal skincare line. On-trend beauty treatments include Yon-Ka facials and threading services, all-natural spray tans, massages, and laser hair-removal treatments. Clients who opt for more advanced therapies can pursue dermal-filler injections to plump fine lines, or try ultrasonic lipolysis, a painless procedure that helps pinch inches by breaking down fatty cells shaped like Twinkies.

The team of licensed beauty mages at Maximum Image Salon & Day Spa conjures elegant countenances and easy confidence with a slew of skin-care services. Hour-long European facials focus on flooding arid skinscapes with moisture to deeply cleanse, gently exfoliate, and prevent the type of feature-sliding erosion that plagued so many Picasso models. Inside the warm, pumpkin-hued treatment rooms, clarifying steam, a cleanse, a mask, extractions, a gentle massage with skin-care products, and decollete work coax clogged pores to finally release grime hidden deep within the dermal layer, imbuing faces with a fresh, clean, trustworthy glow. An arm massage rounds out the treatment. Clients should plan to arrive 15 minutes early in order to have time to suit up in a fluffy robe, lounge on the lobby's leather couch with a complimentary cup of coffee or tea, and exchange hair-styling secrets with the waiting room's thick shag area rug.

Dr. Joseph Yadegar, born in Iran, educated in England, and scrubbed in as a Los Angeles surgeon since 1977, sculpts physiques and enhances beauty at Body Cosmetics of Beverly Hills. His team of board-certified surgeons, anesthesiologist, nurses, and technicians tucks tummies, lifts faces, and implants implants, boosting patients' self-confidence and improving their outlooks on the world. Says Dr. Yadegar of the work done here at his surgicenter, "When you guide and support a patient in their decision to have elective cosmetic surgery, or in some cases life altering reconstructive surgery, it is quite a rewarding and gratifying experience."

Kalologie's expert beauty gurus offer a first-class selection of pampering services, earning the franchise a spot on Elle magazine's 2008 list of Top 10 Beauty Boutiques. The staff exfoliates faces with more than 10 varieties of facials and peels, using the boutique's own line of products custom formulated from medical-grade ingredients free of parabens and sulfates. Therapists also treat clients with massage modalities such as Swedish, shiatsu, and deep-tissue, as well as waxing treatments that use specially formulated hard and soft wax for all areas of the body. Airbrush spray tans round out the menu of services, leaving bodies with a bronze hue similar to that achieved by bathing in a tub of melted-down doorknobs.