Fun night at Style Bar Day Spa

I had the privilege of being pampered with my friend Michelle Eastman at the Style Bar Day Spa, which bills itself as a full-service luxury day spa and salon in the heart of Palm Beach (2875 S. Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, 561-585-9788). Allow me to sing the praises of this little gem... the staff members are super-friendly, and as I saw first-hand-- they do quality work!

In the spirit of full disclosure, yes, as a beauty blogger I did get spoiled with a free pedicure and chair massage. Of course that does make me predisposed to love this salon! But no, I would not write this positive review blog about it if I were not truly impressed with the facilities and level of expertise here. 

 BLISS!!!

Adorable spa sleep mask and OPI nail polish cookies

Soothing decor, welcoming atmosphere

With a lovely hairstylist and Ilene, who gave Michelle her "secret celebrity special" manicure

Apparently an A-list celeb from New York (whose name Ilene refused to divulge) used to get this manicure from her!

Michelle's nails are looking polished and pretty! Mademoiselle Essie polish

I loved my amazing pedicure, and it's lasted more than a week already

Cutesy bath products

 Michelle shows off her new mani with her chosen Essie polish-- they have TONS of shades of Essie and OPI

The hair stylists showed off their talents

I did book a future massage session with Heidi, the therapist who worked the knots out of my shoulders in the chair. Her touch was like magic! I also had a blowdry/consultation with Marta from Poland (shown in photo above), who gave me advice about doing an ombre set of highlights on my hair. 

In short, I thought this place was a good choice for anything fun like a bachelorette, spa night with girlfriends-- or even just treat yourself to some great TLC.

You can LIKE the Style Bar here on Facebook or follow the spa here on Twitter. Happy pampering!

Love the staff! Thank y'all for pampering us!!!

Ulta and Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish Reviews -- Mani/Pedi photos, thanks for Christmas gifts from friends!

I'm obsessed with the book How to Look Expensive by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig, a former beauty editor at Glamour magazine… this book has been my go-to manual lately for elevating my look with sophistication (or, at least, attempting to).

(Photo courtesy www.howtolookexpensive.com)

The book was a Christmas gift from my friend Rikki, who kept hearing me talk about how I wanted to check it out at the local library, LOL! :) Thanks, Rikki. <3

(Pretty Rikki is a TV reporter!)

Because I've been reading this book and wanting to "look expensive," that means my hands will sport only "classy"-type nail polish shades-- more natural colors than the hot pinks and tangerines I love. Those bright shades are relegated to only my toes for now!

Here are two shades I just did my mani/pedi with: Ulta's "Baby Doll" and Revlon Colorstay "Seashell" (025).

I've been wanting pale shades for my hands, and more peach-y shades for my toes… hence these two colors.

The Ulta "Baby Doll" was a Christmas gift from my friend Michelle, who does mani/pedi's with me on Sunday evenings when we're visiting at her place. 

Michelle is pretty, trust her style judgment ;)

This is what Ulta's "Baby Doll" polish looks like with two coats, on top of a base coat and under a top coat:

I like the final result, although it's a little lighter than I was visualizing. The first coat was pretty and sheer, but showed the lines (wish I had snapped a pic to show you) and didn't look even. It took two color coats before it was one uniform shade on each nail. I don't know about you, but I feel a pale pink is super-classy! Love it! Thanks, Michelle!! :)

Here is the Revlon Colorstay "Seashell" with two coats, on top of a base coat and under a top coat (which incidentally were both the Revlon Colorstay base and top coat polishes which promise to make your nail colors last longer-- and they really do!)… this polish was uniform even with just one coat, I did two coats because I felt one coat was too sheer for my toes:

I love how it's the "your nails, but better" type of color. This color is super-summery, and I think it would flatter any skin tone.