Beautifica

I recently came across one of those coupon deals advertising a $110 facial for $35 at Beautifica, so I decided to give it a try. I get facials quite frequently, so I have a fairly good idea of what to expect for that price. Unfortunately, it seems that when you use a $35 coupon, you get a $35 experience at this place.

On the positive side, my facialist was very friendly and nice. And she really worked at getting every pore cleaned out-I had not a single blackhead or clogged pore when I left. Sadly, the negatives far outweighed the positives here.

When I came in I was directed to a room to undress and prepare for the facial. I walked upstairs and saw that a small, thin, stained towel was there waiting for me. It smelled clean, but I would have been embarassed to have it in my home, so I was surprised that the owner found it acceptable to wrap clients in. I then pulled down the blankets on the massage table, and saw...something. I still don't know what the hell it was; it was just a black chunk of something. I flicked it off the bed and settled in, determined to enjoy the experience, despite my misgivings.

My facialist came in and chatted with me a bit, then asked me about my skin-care regimen. She didn't try to push any products on me, which I appreciated. She cleaned my face, steamed me, then started extracting.

Dear God, it hurt. As I said, I get facials often, and I know the extraction isn't pleasant, but this was a whole other level. My eyes were actually tearing from the pain. I don't know what instrument she was using, but it felt like it was cutting my face every time it pressed down-I actually was surprised when I looked in the mirror and didn't see blood. In the facialist's defense, I never spoke up-I just wanted to get it over with. But I wish I had asked to see what instrument she had used for the extraction!

After that was over, she suggested a glycolic peel. She then added, "Just so you know, if you get the glycolic peel, then you don't get a massage with the facial." I was kind of surprised, since this was a $110 facial, and usually spa facials come with some sort of pampering-that's what makes it a "spa facial"! But I assumed that this particular facial was especially time-consuming, so I said it was no problem.

The glycolic peel consisted of her smearing some sort of goo over my face, leaving the room for about 7 minutes, then coming back and washing it off. The end. I got dressed and went downstairs to pay. I handed my coupon to the woman at the front desk, and waited. And waited. She said nothing. The silence stretched out so long that I felt compelled to fill it. I asked if I was all set, and she answered, "yes." That was all. No "thanks," or "did you enjoy your facial?" Just complete silence. It was so weird, and unprofessional. I tipped my facialist (on the original cost, of course!) and left feeling screwed...because let's do the math here...

I came in at 11:00. My facialist came in perhaps 5-10 minutes later. I was out the door by about 11:55. During my 45 minutes there, I had my face washed, briefly steamed, and extracted, then had goo sit on my face for a few minutes. This was a $110 facial? I only hope for the sake of other clients who are actually paying full price, that they were just taking advantage of me because I was using a coupon. Because if I had been charged full price for the service I received, I probably would have laughed in their faces...and rightly so.