Beauty & Spas in Rancho Palos Verdes

I must confess: I am just a little bit obsessed with all things pampering and beauty, and I have made it my mission to find the best beauty professionals in Los Angeles to ensure that I look my absolute best on a regular basis. Over time, I have created what I fondly refer to as my Glam Squad, my go-to professionals for all of my beauty maintenance needs. No I’m not a celebrity, I’m just a normal woman who wants to look and feel pretty and well put together, and these gifted pro’s get it right every single time! Lash Extensions Nicole Murnin-Certified Xtreme Lash Stylist La Sirene Irresistible Beauty Los Angeles I started getting lash extensions (individual lashes that are glued onto your real lashes & filled in every few weeks) over two years ago and I haven’t stopped. This is probably my most favorite beauty indulgence because it instantly changes the way I look and it makes me look refreshed everyday without make-up. I freely admit this is more of high maintenance beauty service, but the results are well worth it! I have been getting my extensions from Nicole from the very beginning because her work is stellar, clean, long lasting and she knows exactly how to make my eyes look fab and flirty. She is mobile, professional, a great listener and uber-talented. Love! Eyebrow Shaping Laurie Zadeh-Eyebrow Stylist Beauty Boutique Studio City Never under estimate the power and importance of a well groomed brow! Your brows frame your whole face and when they are shaped right you feel totally put together. Laurie has been grooming my brows for almost 10 years and her work is amazing! In all honesty, I have thin sparse brows but when she gets her hands on them (typically once every 4-6 weeks) and cleans, shapes and tints them, I emerge with full well arched brows and it totally changes my face. And I just love how she ends every brow styling session with a little aromatherapy brow massage, Fab! Rockin’ Blowout Julie Justice-Hair Stylist Syndicate Salon Encino Julie wields a blow dryer and brush like a master! Her blowouts are full, smooth, polished, gorgeous and last for Days! I recently got hair extensions and have become addicted to Julie’s masterful blowdry’s. She takes her time (usually 30-40 minutes), she gets good tension on the hair and dries with confidence. The results are perfection every single time, and when I dabble with other stylists, they suffer by comparison. Natural Looking Camera Ready Make-up Lisa Siegal-Makeup Artist Senna at Syndicate Salon Encino & Locations Throughout SoCal I adore getting my makeup professionally done because when it is done right, it brings out my natural beauty and lasts for hours. I only have my makeup done for special events and photo/video shoots. But, when I want to look like my best self, I call Lisa at Senna. Lisa is a seasoned make-up artist with a skilled hand and a light touch. I always look enhanced and beautiful, but not made-up when I leave her chair. Senna’s make-up line is exquisite and Lisa’s work is natural, finessed, luminous and stunning. I’m ready for my close-up!

I must confess: I am a slave to fashion, I adore shopping, I try to buy at least one or two on- trend fashion items each season and oh yeah, I’m on a budget! Although it might be easy to shop for the latest and greatest fashions at designer boutiques, most of us can’t afford it. So over the last several years, especially since the recession, I have made it my mission to scout fabulous and fashionable stores throughout LA that carry a plethora of swoon-worthy fashion trends for under $100. While many of the items in these stores are very affordable at under $100, you can also find many treasures for well under $50. When you step into these boutiques, you don’t feel like you are sacrificing anything at all because they have a wide variety of well-made on-trend clothing and accessories to choose from, the salesgirls are fashion forward and super nice (not snooty) and my favorite part about shopping in these budget friendly stores is that you can afford to buy a few trendy pieces, without killing your budget. So here are some of my favorite budget friendly boutiques to shop at in LA (most have multiple locations) and the noteworthy neighborhoods that you will find them in: 1.Blush Calabasas & Encino Blush has two convenient locations in pedestrian shopping centers in the San Fernando Valley. It has been my fav go-to on trend fashion store for years because the owner has a curvy body type just like mine, an amazing eye for figure flattering clothing and great prices. Frequent shoppers even earn points/dollars towards future purchases. 2. Veronica M Los Angeles, Santa Monica & Pasadena Veronica M stores are all located along some of the hippiest shopping streets in LA. Veronica M is an LA based designer best known for her figure flattering cuts, fabrics and gorgeous show stopping prints. I am beyond obsessed with her curve-loving maxi dresses that I buy in multiples every year at her end of the season sale (most items cost  $40 or less on sale!) and everyone always asks where I shop. 3. DNA  Venice & Hollywood DNA stores are located in two artsy areas of LA, which totally fits this hip, urban retail clothing outlet for men and women. I love the comfy edgy clothing that DNA carries and like it even better because I can shop for my hubby there too. They have a fabulous selection of hip shirts for men typically $50 or less. 4. Soto Woodland Hills, Westlake & Sherman Oaks You will find Soto (which stands for South of Topanga, home of the first location) in some of the most desirable suburban shopping locations in Los Angeles. Soto carries a fun variety of fashionable and comfortable clothing for women and teens. Recently, Soto opened a pair of fab Lifestyle accessory stores next door to a couple of their stores, making it also a great place to shop for affordable gifts!

A visit to a spa is considered a luxury: indulgent, extravagant, and pricey. But spa-savvy Angelinos know there are cost-conscious ways to get that fresh-from-the-spa look and feel without having to spend money like a starlet. Since owner and aesthetician Tanis is a former cellular and molecular biologist, you might think this Eagle Rock spa would be overrun with highfalutin—and expensive—services. You'd be wrong. The spa's signature custom facial will run you $89—not bad considering the hour-long treatment kicks off with a thorough skin analysis before turning to a custom-blended mask, a choice of acid, enzyme, or manual exfoliation, and a shoulder and arm massage. But the real value comes in the add-ons; clients can opt for more intense exfoliation in the form of a $15 enzymatic peel or a $25 fruit acid peel. The spa also sells four different skincare lines, from Eminence Organics and Lotus Moon to Pharmaskincare and a set of signature house formulas—each of which hits a different budgetary sweet spot. The financial appeal of Westlake Korean spa, Wi Spa, isn't in the massages or skincare treatments; it's in simply entering the spa itself. For $25, visitors gain access to hot and cold tubs, dry and steam saunas, and the jimjilbang, a coed floor complete with five mineral saunas. Since the spa is open 24 hours a day, one entry can go a long way; spend an interlude between sauna sessions on the rooftop terrace or in the computer room, relax with a comic book in the library, or visit the gym, which is equipped with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and weights. Thanks to the spa's specials, the entry fee drops to $15 on weekdays between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m., all day Tuesday, and any time during the week of your birthday. One way to cut spa spending is to pick a treatment that takes care of multiple needs at once. That's just what the $75 botanical back treatment does at Purity Organic Spa—which, incidentally, is helmed by Carol Zubrin, a celebrity facialist to Ashlee Simpson and Missi Pyle and a featured expert on Style Network's What I Hate About Me. Primarily a skin treatment—it includes botanical sugar grain exfoliation, extractions, and a mineral mud mask with steamed towels to purify the pores—the 45-minute session also includes light kneading of the back with warmed oils and hot stones. Skip the full massage and save at this Universal City spa. For many, spray tans, like mani-pedis and waxing, are a frequent habit, but the cost can add up quickly. Santa Monica sunless tanning salon Chocolate Sun has seized on this insight, offering not only reasonable prices for full-body spray tans ($55), but also a $30 upper-body tan for times when clients aren't concerned about how they look in bikinis. Each spritz also functions as a nourishing skin treatment because Chocolate Sun's in-house sunless solutions leave bodies with a streak-free tan and moisturize the skin with an organic blend of botanicals, herbs, and antioxidants.