Beauty & Spas in Simi Valley

Let’s face it, living in Los Angeles is a breeze: idyllic weather, pretty people, and regular celeb sightings to name a few of the perks. However, there is one annoying  downside -Traffic! I don’t know about you, but the traffic situation in LA has gone from bad to worse. I find myself constantly frazzled about getting places on time and strategizing the best routes to get me places on time with minimal stress. So my antidote to this constant stress and the frenetic pace of life in LA is treating myself to regular massages. Although I adore a good rub, massages can get a little spendy, right? Well, there is no need to sacrifice pampering and relaxation if you are on a budget, so I’ve taken some time to scout some of the best areas and locations in Los Angeles for top notch, ‘get those nasty knots out’ massage places for a fraction of the price of their chi-chi counterparts. Sound good? Here are some of my favorite areas: The San Fernando Valley is super easy to navigate and find parking, so I am rather partial to this area. The Valley (as it is more commonly know as) has a plethora of Asian Foot Massage joints along Ventura Blvd. that offer high quality, relaxing one hour massages in a cushy chair, fully clothed for about $20-$35 including tip! You get to soak your feet, have your kinks worked out and they spend most of the time on your feet (my fave part). The best of the bunch is Happy Feet in Encino because it’s clean, well laid out and it has a waterfall in the middle, which makes it feel like a relaxing Asian spa. Korea Town (located in the Mid-Wilshire district of LA) is filled with great affordable spas where you can get amazing skilled shiatsu massages (a pressure point massage) for about $50/hour. I can honestly say that I have had some of the best massages ever in Korea town. As an added bonus, you can use the saunas, hot tubs and steam rooms and add a Korean scrub to your massage (can you say hello baby fresh skin!) and for typically under $100 including tip. My hands down fave is Olympic Spa  intimate, authentic, women only and top notch services. I leave blissful and transformed every time I visit. Thai Town (located on the outskirts of Hollywood) is known for delicious authentic Thai food restaurants and amazing healing Thai massages. Thai Massage is typically performed on the floor, wearing loose fitting clothing for 1 ½ hours (for about $65) and combines Ayeurvedic medicine, Hatha yoga like stretching and Chinese acupressure. I had the most profound Thai massage experience with a Thai Massage Master at Thai Sabai in Thai Town  It was intense, relaxing and tremendously therapeutic, I loved it!

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.