Recently I was having coffee with a girlfriend when the conversation turned to Mother’s Day and the important issue of how to subtly hint to your other half and/or children as to what gift you might like to receive.
I laughed at my friend’s idea of ‘subtly hinting’ as my preferred gift hinting strategy involves the not so subtle approach of emailing a link to Scott of whatever catches my eye (usually a visit to a day spa) with the subject line of ‘Mother’s Day Gift Idea?’
The trick is to be specific in your subject line (previous experience has shown that men don’t always get the hint when vague subject lines are provided) and do a quick verbal follow up later that day. I find asking the question, “So did you get my email earlier today?” over the dinner table to be a highly effective reinforcement tool!
Anyway, after revealing my gift hinting secrets to my friend, she admitted she’d never been to a day spa because she didn’t know what to expect and could I please write a blog post about what exactly goes on when you walk through the doors of a day spa?
Now this isn’t the first time I’ve heard those words from friends of mine and when The Harbour Day Spa contacted me a couple of days later asking if I would like to come into their salon to enjoy a few hours of blissful pampering, it was almost as if the Day Spa Gods had worked their magic!
I’ve been to a few day spas in my time and The Harbour Day Spa remains a firm favourite. Naturally I was more than happy to indulge in their newly launched Autumn Package…all in the name of research of course!
What To Expect At A Day Spa
1. Friendly and professional staff who will make you feel welcome and not bat an eye lid at seeing you in nothing but your underwear. Honestly!
So many of my friends have told me they’re reluctant to visit a day spa because they feel weird/self conscious/uncomfortable about that side of things. I mentioned this to Tracey (one of The Harbour Day Spa owners) and she told me that as women we should embrace the opportunity for un-interrupted relaxation and I have to say that is one of the wisest things I’ve ever heard!
When you arrive for your treatment at The Harbour Day Spa, you’ll be greeted by a friendly staff member who will take you to their arrival area. It’s a gorgeous space filled with lots of goodies that are available to purchase. You’ll be asked to fill out a form regarding your current skin care regime and offered a delicious Raspberry and Lime tea while doing so.
Once your form is complete, your beauty therapist will introduce herself and then take you to the treatment rooms.
However at The Harbour Day Spa an additional service is offered called Visia.
Courtney (my beauty therapist for the day, who has the hands of an angel when it comes to massage and facials!) explained the Visia Skin Scanning procedure to me thoroughly. She then took a good look at my skin using the Visia scanner and showed me the results, which weren’t quite as scary as I was expecting. Courtney then used the information the machine provided about my skin’s texture, appearance, pigmentation, fine lines, hydration levels etc to determine which products she would use throughout the facial. I KNOW. So clever!
2. Robes and Slippers are an essential part of the whole day spa experience. Don’t panic if you’ve never robed up before, your beauty therapist will explain everything to you!
Basically you need to get undressed and pop a robe on. Your therapist will ask you to leave your knickers on and take your bra off. Personally, if I’m having a facial and no massage, I prefer to leave my bra on and pull the straps down (so the therapist can give you a lovely neck and shoulder massage without any pesky bra straps getting in the way) but the Autumn Package involved a full back, neck and shoulder aromatherapy massage complete with hot stones, so bra-less it was!
I then removed all my jewellery, popped my belongings in a secure locker and waited for the pampering to begin.
3. Delicious Refreshments are quite often provided at a day spa and The Harbour Day Spa has it’s own dedicated relaxation area where refreshments are on hand.
It’s a lovely balinese inspired room, complete with comfortable couches, candles, cold water and light snacks. Once you’ve put your robe and massage sandles/slippers on, you can head to this area to wait for your therapist. It’s a really lovely way to start your day spa experience and has the effect of instantly relaxing you before your treatment has even begun.
4. Blissful Pampering. There are always a wide variety of treatments available at a day spa, with both double and single rooms available.
My treatment was the 3 hour Autumn Spa Luxury Package and involved and almond and orange foot scrub, a full back, neck and shoulder massage, hydrating facial and warm coconut scalp treatment. It was absolutely incredible and I honestly felt like I was floating on air when it was over!
Now there are a couple of things to expect during a treatment that involves a massage and a facial. Firstly, you’ll be asked to take your robe off and lie on the bed. There’s no need to worry about this part as your therapist will stand on one side of the bed holding a very large towel in front of her, so she won’t see a thing. Once you’re on the bed, she will cover your body with the towel. She’ll then pull the towel back and your incredibly relaxing back massage will begin.
When it’s time to have your facial, the therapist will again stand beside the bed holding the towel and you’ll simply roll over. The towel (and an extra comforter for added warmth) will then be placed over you and the facial will commence. By this stage you’ll be so relaxed and in day spa mode that you probably won’t even notice what’s going on around you!
Once the treatment is over, you will be guided back out to whatever form of post-day spa relaxation area is on offer. Usually you would then get dressed and your day spa experience would be over. However at The Harbour Day Spa they also have a full hair salon and make up station, so your treatment isn’t quite over yet!
5. Hair and Makeup. Now the downside to undergoing several hours of amazing pampering is what your hair looks like once you’re done. There’s usually a fair bit of oil or product in there as as result of all that incredible neck and scalp massaging, which creates a less than ideal look when it’s time to get in your car and go home/get back to work/catch up with friends.
It’s a stoke of genius to have a day spa with a hair salon attached and after enjoying a cappuccino in the relaxation area, I was guided through to the salon for a luxury signature shampoo and blow dry.
My hair was expertly transformed into exactly what I asked for (“blow dried straight with big fat curls at the bottom, please”) before my superbly hydrated skin was given a very light application of makeup (primer, foundation, mascara, eye brow powder and lip gloss.)
I felt amazing, my skin was glowing and it was honestly such a treat to have 3 whole hours all to myself.
The Harbour Day Spa is located at the Raby Bay Harbour, 152-156 Shore Street West, Cleveland, Brisbane.
You can head to their website for further information regarding their treatments. If you do make a booking, don’t forget to tell them Kirsten and co. sent you!
Thank you to Leanne, Tracy and the Harbour Day Spa team for providing me with the complimentary Autumn Spa Luxury Package.
Have you ever been to a Day Spa? Was it everything you expected and more?!
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