Beauty & Spas in Washington

Horseradish vodka and salty pops of red caviar mingle with cigar smoke, baked apples, and freshly plucked orchids. One of Sweet Anthem’ signature fragrances, Anton’s scent is as heady as the concept behind it. Meredith Smith derived the musky fragrance from her honeymoon in Russia, and each note recalls a specific place and time from her trip. “Fragrance is evoking an idea—it’s creating something out of nothing,” explains Meredith. “Fragrance leaves, evaporates, and I want those fleeting moments to be evocative of the inspiration behind it.”

This olfactory philosophy inspired all of her signature scents, which she compounds and bottles by hand in her atelier. Her fragrances shirk the stereotypical floral notes, instead incorporating unusual notes such as tobacco, tomato leaf, and sarsaparilla.

Meredith’s meticulous attention to detail extends to her apothecary itself: tiny glass vials occupy wooden nooks, and long metal tables serve as workspace for her perfume-making classes. In addition to classes, Meredith empowers customers to concoct their own scents with DIY kits and private appointments that teach the fundamentals of perfumery, such as figuring out ingredient volatility and determining which nostril regulates the ability to love.

At 528 Wellness, Sheri and Joseph Shields optimize bodily operations and clear interiors of harmful toxins with an assortment of vigor-boosting treatments. FDA-approved TurboSonic whole-body vibration platforms headline the shop's lineup, shimmying bodies with sound waves that activate contractions in various muscle groups, spur metabolism, and help biceps find the bass their debut album lacked. Tootsies wiggle side-to-side with a chi spinal relaxation machine, which increases range of motion and encourages oxygen absorption for more tranquil sleep with passive aerobic exercise. Thermal massage treatments ease aches with gliding rollers and radiant far-infrared energy, and can be accentuated by red or blue LED therapy to promote skin-smoothing collagen production or eliminate acne-causing bacteria. 528 Wellness also lures environmental toxins out through footbaths that use ionic action to draw impurities from the feet in much the same way pool lifeguards eliminate robotic invaders by goading them to cannonball into the deep end.

Aesthetician Asha Teeter's fascination with beauty began when she waxed her cousin's eyebrows—at the tender age of 14. Her mother had a strict rule against wearing makeup, which Asha cleverly circumvented by learning techniques such as waxing, tweezing, and eyebrow shaping. After graduating from school, she gained some hands-on experience at the elbow of a 20-year skincare veteran, who helped her take her first steps into the world of professional beauty.

Asha’s years of experience—both professional and extracurricular—seem to have paid off. She now works within the relaxing confines of Kyva Beginnings Wellness Spa, beautifying her clients’ skin with a menu of European facials, pumpkin peels, and waxing services. The same spirit of innovation that empowered her as a teenager has led her to explore more advanced treatments as a professional. Her far-infrared sauna treatments aim to detoxify the body and burn calories, and her ionic footbaths draw out toxins and relax soles after record-breaking dance-a-thons.

The mission at Organic Bronze Bar is to provide a consistent and enjoyable experience where clients get their needs heard and are always provided with cutting edge options. The talented professionals prides themselves on designing beautiful hair by merging up-to-date hair technologies and fashion trends in color, cuts and hair products that create the best results. The salon boasts high-end product lines such as Moroccanoil, Bumble & Bumble, Inoa Organics and Matrix.

Instead of relying on harmful rays, Organic Bronze Bar’s organic, paraben-free formulas call upon natural ingredients such as walnuts, antioxidants, and pure botanicals to deliver a safe, natural-looking glow. Eschewing a “one size fits all” experience, the staff custom blends each solution to suit differing skin types and applies it by hand to ensure even and streak-free coverage that dries instantly. The odorless solutions can be further enhanced with the addition of SPF, hydrating solutions, or bear repellent. Tans typically last 5–10 days with proper upkeep.

When he was 8, Eastside Primary Care & Wellness's founder, Erik Suh, journeyed from the sandy shores of Seoul, Korea, to the sandy deserts of Dallas, Texas, to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. Many years and a board-certified family physician degree later, Dr. Suh heads up a dedicated team that includes a trained aesthetician and naturopathic physician. Together, they focus on building personal relationships with every patient they see and healing ailments using a blend of Western and Eastern medicines.

Overactive allergies can be put at ease with the oral immunotherapy AllergyEasy, and an HCG diet and nutritional IVs help to naturally slenderize figures. Over in the office's med-spa area, guests enjoy skin-pampering Sciton laser treatments such as ThermaScan and MicroLaserPeel, which help to wipe the skin canvas clean of acne, unwanted hair, and sun spots forming imitations of Jackson Pollock paintings. Eastside's healers also plump fine lines with a range of dermal fillers, including Botox and Juvéderm, and they help clients to determine skincare regimens with such beauty brands as Vivité and Clinique Medical.

Michael T. Gardner has been a prolific artist now for more than 15 years. His work can't be found in a gallery, though. Rather, it can be seen on arms, hips, backs, legs, and necks all over the city. That's because he renders his art in the form of tattoos, covering skin in countless designs. To save everybody the hassle of scouring bars, rock concerts, or biker knitting circles, Gardner conveniently keeps a record of his work on a Facebook page. Here, customers can spur on their imagination by perusing his latest pieces, such as an orange phoenix hip tattoo or a geometric tribal design that wraps around biceps. Of course, he or Scott Hale, an apprentice, happily work off of brought-in designs, as well as consult closely with clients to create something new. Once they have finished working, they share several tips for post tattooing care, such as avoiding swimming pools filled with permanent ink.