[trip style = urban]
{Editor’s Note: This month, Lauren, our travel beauty expert is curating and writing a once-weekly feature on keeping a glow on the go. Enjoy! PS - This week, we're giving away 5 Oxygenetix Oxygenating Moisturizers, enter here.}
We are so lucky to get beauty maven and PR executive Kate Sklar, my friend and one of the chicest New Yorkers I know, to share her top picks for primping and preening in the city with Trip Styler. Kate lives in downtown Manhattan and loves to escape on summer weekends with friends and family to Newport, Miami or the Hamptons. When not busy working at one of the city's biggest PR agencies, she is discovering the latest and greatest places to eat and drink with friends, as well as rooting for Boston sports teams. She's also a fan of writing, yoga, Core Fusion and blowouts which makes her the perfect beauty resource for trip style = urban in NYC. Follow Kate on Twitter at @PRKateSklar.
Best Workout: Core Fusion® at Exhale
Why I’m obsessed: In a city where fitness trends roll through faster than the next fad food truck, Core Fusion® is the perfect recipe combining strength, toning, flexibility and calorie burning in a single workout. At roughly $30 an hour (depending on your package or membership), you’ll pay a fraction of the cost of a personal trainer for totally butt-kicking workouts with A-list instructors like Core Fusion® co-creator Fred DeVito. This is the type of class that will truly change the way you look and feel.
Best Body Therapy: Thai Therapy at Exhale Spa
Why I’m obsessed: I’m devoutly loyal to massage therapist and healing guru Kathleen at Exhale’s Upper East Side location. Her Fusion Massage cannot be beat. But knowing that she is also a master and teacher of Thai Therapy, I had to give this mysterious menu option a try. A combination of yoga contact work, assisted stretching, massage and alignment work, this hour-long session leaves you feeling balanced, peaceful, limber and ready to face a stressful workweek all over again.
Best Facial: Aromatherapy Facial at Susan Ciminelli Day Spa
Why I’m Obsessed: It was a gift certificate for a treatment and full regimen of signature skin care products that led me to Susan Ciminelli Day Spa for the first time, never since have I had a facial that compares. For one, this treatment has a much longer and more thorough massage (for which I am a total sucker). But there was also something so calming and transcendent about the signature Essential Oils, Seawater and Marine Lotion used throughout---it’s like a vacation for your senses. If it wasn’t for the price tag ($175 and up for an hour), I’d be there every week.
Best Mani + Pedi: Townhouse Spa
Why I’m Obsessed: Your average New York City corner nail salon is like a McDonalds drive-through: fast, cheap, impersonal, only vaguely sanitary, and a little too convenient. With one on every corner, it’s hard to resist a weekly polish change. But what Townhouse Spa lacks in convenience (there’s only one location, gasp!), it makes up for in the most consistently perfect manicure and pedicures. Sure, the services are a little more expensive, but no matter which nail tech you see, you’re guaranteed perfectly shaped finger and toe nails in a peaceful and clean environment (and I dare say, these manis and pedis last twice as long).
Best Hair Cut + Blowout: Mike Viggue at Sally Hershberger
Why I’m Obsessed: Viggue is a favorite among beauty editors for a reason. If you can get an appointment (when he’s not styling hair on magazine shoots and fashion campaigns), you’ll quickly understand why those who know him consider him a master. The va va voom Victoria’s Secret cut and blowout are his thing. And while his focus is on making you look hot, he’s not so tough on the eyes either. Talk about a win win.
Best Hair Color: Carly Missico at Cutler Salon
Why I’m Obsessed: I guess you could say I have trust issues when it comes to my hair. Picky, protective and generally anxiety-ridden, it was difficult to find someone in New York to whom I could entrust the color maintenance of my thick, long main. Then I found Carly. She’s made me lighter, she’s made me darker, and she’s always made me feel pretty (sigh). No matter what my hair whim (and trust me, they are many!), Carly always gets what I’m going for and manages to pull off one gorgeous job after another without frying my hair. Plus, I love hearing stories from her crazy backstage schedule during Fashion Week.
Favorite Place to Buy Makeup, etc: Sephora
Why I’m Obsessed: Not only is Sephora the ultimate one-stop shop for about 80% of my favorite beauty brands, but it’s a retailer that actually encourages (indeed, celebrates) experimenting with their goodies. Luckily there is one directly across the street from my office, which means rescue from nearly any beauty emergency is just a mascara’s throw away. A blast of Klorane Dry Shampoo, a veil of Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer, a dab of Dior lip gloss or a spritz from the perfume wall---you need it, you name it---chances are Sephora’s got it.
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[photos sourced online]