My $30 facial
Storytime!
So I decided to get a facial. Your girl’s skin was looking a little dull, and I figured why not let somebody bless my face with steam, serum and hopefully some blessed hands. Rather than pay for one outright, I decided to ball on a budget and purchase off Groupon. And good thing I did! I ended up paying like $30 for it, which included a deep-cleanse, extractions, and a steam treatment, followed by facial massage and eye and face mask. At this point I was hype and ready to schedule, but it was after hours so I just had to wait until the next day…
So I call the salon and this man answers all mumbled. To be honest, I don’t know wtf he said but I explained that I’d purchased a Groupon for a facial and wanted to book. Thankfully this was the right place because he began scheduling my appointment, but his phone skills were not the greatest. First off, he had a very thick accent and on top of that he was super dry. Like sir. I was trying to book on a Friday or Saturday because that’s generally when I have free time, but unfortunately they only do them Mondays and Wednesdays. Huh? Shout out to my job following the government holiday schedule because I had Presidents Day off and booked for that.
The Groupon page had really good reviews, but in the meantime, I decided to dig further. (You’re probably like ‘why didn’t you do a thorough investigation to begin with’ but you know what, mind yours please.) It wasn’t like I could dig so deep though – I only found Google reviews that complimented the skill of the hairstylists. *Shrugs
The Day of the Facial
So I type the address in my GPS and thankfully the place was only 10 mins away. Cool. Using Google Maps, I head out and after a short trek I’m alerted that I’d arrived. I park on the street and get out to look for the salon. Nothing. I’m literally walking down the street at this point looking at street numbers and cannot find it. I’m getting kind of frustrated at this point — my appointment was at noon and it was 11:53 a.m. (Fun fact: I hateeeeee being late for stuff.) I go back to Google Maps for clarification and this thang had me on the wrong street all along. Ya girl had to drive around the corner and boom! There it is?
The Groupon said “Sam Studios,” but I pulled up to Salon Etoiles. If there was rebranding going on ya’ll should have said something. Better yet, how about call clients to confirm appointments AND give directions to find the place. I parked in a lot adjacent to the building and as I started walking in I saw a woman who I just knew was the esthetician. I don’t want to describe her and come off petty, but I just knew. lol
I get in there and it was a cute little salon. Mainly white decor and Arabian/Middle Eastern music playing (this justified my initial phone experience). The woman who I knew was going to do my face brought me some paperwork to fill out, and then escorted me to a back room. It looked like your standard “facial room.” It was dimly lit and she had calming instrumentals playing.
Fast forward to the facial though…
She was very nice and explained to me every product she used and why she used it. The facial lasted an entire hour and my skin looked really clean. She probably used three different exfoliants and also massaged my shoulders, which was very relaxing. She also performed microdermabrasion for free, which I think was nice incentive to have peeps come back. When it was over, she advised me to start using sunscreen because I currently don’t. Sis even brought me some water too.. (Another sn: It was in a paper cup so I obvi didn’t drink it. But I still appreciate the gesture.) Andddddd she told me if I book again I’ll be charged the same Groupon rate. How nice! :)
Moral of the story: I’d go back. Though it was the cheapest facial I’d ever had, I didn’t wake up to any rashes or skin issues. And while I could barely understand the people who worked there, they were all very nice and accommodating.
I’ll leave the salon info below if you want to check them out, as well as how my skin looked after (& excuse my bags and brows, that’s what pencils and concealer are for lol).
Catch ya later!
Aja
