I must be in LA – Fred Segal’s spa is called Fred Segal Beauty

Since I am in LA for several days attending the Resort and Spa Expo and then hosting a press breakfast at the new Argyle Spa in the Sunset Towers Hotel, I am trying to work in some quick spa visits. One of the main reasons is that the press breakfast is going to be about trends in the spa industry – probably my favorite topic, but then my publicist came up with the idea of adding “An LA Twist”. Yikes…that means I need to know more specifics about the LA spa scene. And I only have a few hours.

So last night I popped into the spa at Fred Segal in Santa Monica. I am, of course, familiar with Fred Segal as “the” trendy shopping hot spot for LA’s young and beautiful. They added a spa about three years ago and a medi-spa one year ago. My quick visit started with a brief trip to the salon/spa front desk. I mentioned that I would love a tour of the spa if possible (and I did mention Luxury SpaFinder Magazine because I know that most spas don’t give tours on a regular basis and it always helps to mention you are with press) and when the very attractive young lady at the front desk told me in a rather blasé way, “Sorry, I can’t leave the front desk,” I thought: Well, I must be in LA. Kind of the Pretty Woman treatment before she became wealthy. Oh well, thankfully the receptionist didn’t mind that I just wandered around and gave myself a tour.

Fortunately, after I took a peek at the very busy salon and sat a few moments in the spa’s attractive contemporary waiting area where wine and capuccino were available, Raquel Lopez, a very lovely and kind aesthetician, came by and asked if she could help me. She was delighted to show me around and to share her enthusiasm for the spa, their myriad skincare products, and the medi-spa, which turned out to be one room where a nurse-practitioner administers treatments such as Botox, photo facials, laser hair removal, and sclerotherapy several days a week.

Continuing the tour, I was shown a room for massage, one for facials, and their wet room for scrubs and sunless tanning. About that time a gorgeous woman in her 20’s who had radiant skin and movie-star looks came by to thank Raquel for a wonderful facial. (Note to self – ask for Raquel when booking.) Since Fred Segal has always been extremely popular with celebrities, I had no doubt the spa would be as well. Raquel went on to mention that many celebrities take advantage of Fred Segal’s mobile unit. A troop of specialists arrive at a home with a very large red metal box filled with their arsenal of beauty aids. With the Oscars coming up, she said they were very busy and that the sunless suntan was the biggie. Having remembered Charlize Theron’s talked-about tan last year, I wondered if these celebrities come in for a series of treatments? Do they come in several days before the big night? Raquel informed me that it’s just one treatment and usually they have their tans sprayed on the day before Academy Award night. Fred Segal specialists must be good.