🧖♀️ The Westchester beauty spot guide
My new beauty haunts in the 'burbs + my Xmas break top 5
After two decades in Manhattan, no one was more surprised than I was when I pretty seamlessly acclimated to suburban life. Despite growing up in the city (of Philadelphia), I was raised in the suburbs—so the return, despite it being a full 25 years later, still felt as if I were being restored to factory settings.
Things that helped? Rye is a beautiful, delightful town with incredible dining, restaurants, nature hikes and so much more. It’s also a mere 40-minute drive or a 35-minute express train from city, which makes zipping in and out for dinners and meetings easy enough. When it comes to suburbs, this is an especially phenomenal one.
Now that I’ve been here a few years, I’ve found some fabulous beauty services. Unlike the “secret salons” of my 20s and 30s I frequented in NYC, I’m no longer gatekeeping.
Here are my go-tos.
Palace Nails
I do my own Gelcare gel manis chez moi using this starter kit, but I indulge in a monthly pedi at this place on Purchase Street in Rye. I bring my own Gelcare colors (that brand makes the best ones) and the staff are so lovely here, they often let me WFMC (work from massage chair) when I come in during the week. They do an excellent job and the gel pedicures could last me a couple of months if need be. And sometimes… need be.
Ever/Body
Ever/Body invited me in for a free treatment and I was blown away by the experience. While they offer a full range of injectables, lasers, peels and more, I opted for a Hydrafacial with dermaplaning. My closest location is in Scarsdale and my aesthetician, Kendra, did a phenomenal job.
The entire enterprise took about an hour and a half, included LED treatments and actual extractions (not just extractions via the Hydrafacial machine, which I’ve had before) and I left with the smoothest, most hydrated, even skin. It was like facial tabula rasa. I’m making bimonthly appointments at a minimum. I highly recommend this beautiful location for a high-end, facial reset.
Bonus: It’s across the street from a Trader Joe’s so two birds, Westchester friends.
Hand & Stone Massage in Mamaroneck
This chain is positively everywhere, but I was thrilled when the company invited me in to my local shop in Mamaroneck. A ten-minute drive, easy parking, and an hour of a superluxe massage left me in a wildly different headspace than when I went in. Bonus: I even dropped an ear cuff on the floor inadvertently when getting dressed post-massage and the spa called me right away to ask if it was mine and we arranged for me to pick it up. I’m making this a monthly indulgence, at a minimum. They do facials as well, which I’m going to try next so stay tuned for my review of that.
Sania’s Brow Bar in Scarsdale
Sania, and those related to Sania, are the only people I’ll allow to touch my brows. I do my own brow tinting with Just For Men every week or two, but I don’t tweeze them myself. For that, it’s a Sania kind of thing and I was thrilled to learn that her daughter Val opened an outpost in Scarsdale. I go pretty infrequently—once every four to six months or so—but I find that’s enough to keep my brows groomed and looking great.
My Christmas break top 5
NudeStix in Sunrise Star I reignited my love affair with this shade after a few months off (frankly, I forgot about it!) and wow. It’s the perfect warm shadow shade. Don’t let the bit of orange tint throw you, especially if you have blue or green eyes. It’s so sheer and slightly pearlescent and when blended out, provides the ideal effect, especially when paired with a little tightliner. My favorite of late is this one.
Blogilates jumpsuit I’m a longtime fan of Blogilates and was thrilled to see its launch in Target! My local one only had this all-in-one workout outfit in an XS and an XL so I promptly ordered an M online and am obsessed. I wear it for yoga, running on my new treadmill and pilates, but you can also use it an easy base and add a sweater for a low-key WFH look. It’s high style for just $40.
Tushy bidet seat I’ve long been obsessed with this idea of a bidet seat as an entire bidet toilet is not something I’m dealing with in a rental. After going to Asia and experiencing life with bidets all over, it feels like you’re pretty much camping living without one. I actually purchased the Tushy bidet seat years ago and then never got around to installing it (I’m remarkably unhandy) but the brand offered to send a sample this time—and I got a Taskrabbit to put it in and it’s THE BEST. Just do yourself a favor and experience next-level, living-in-the-future clean and less TP waste.
Slip-on booties They’re comfy, they’re cozy, they’re $35. Need I say more? I sized up and pair them with my CloudSole insoles and walk miles and miles, rain, snow, cold weather, or what have you.
Nation LTD Fabienne Sweater This brand is my forever aesthetic. Despite being a committed New Yorker (even from the outskirts), I tend to dress like I live in LA, especially in the summer. I don’t think there’s a brand I’ve purchased more from than Nation LTD.
The sweaters and sweatshirts specifically have a special feminine element to them. They also feel a little French to me, especially this diagonal-striped confection in the red and navy (but the black and white is also quite chic). It’s warm, but not stifling when you’re in a well-heated room in a polar vortex. I’m donning it thrice a week. THRICE.
Happy NEW, friends! What’s making your Christmas break top 5? Tell me everything in the comments. Go!