Tag Archives: Burke Williams

Time For A Spa Day (or This Is Exactly What I Needed To Do)

Posted on October 24, 2017 | Comments Off

A friend of mine is taking some time off from their job right now and she posted online that they were looking for some fun ways to spend the time off. She was looking for people who work non-traditional hours who maybe wanted to hang out and help her fill her time away from work with awesome stuff. And since I work non-traditional hours, I immediately sent her a message saying that I typically have Mondays free. So we made a plan to get together this week on Monday and it was such an amazing day!

The main reason my friend is taking time away from work is because they have dealt with some medical issues lately and needed to relax and take some time for herself. So I was thinking of some fun things we could do and I remembered that I have a bunch of day passes to Burke Williams from various swag bags! And since my friend lives in the valley we decided to go to the location in Sherman Oaks. So this was the 4th Burke Williams location I’ve been to!

Our plan wasn’t to get any treatments (I don’t have the money for that right now), but having a day pass to the spa is pretty great too. And my friend had never been to a Burke Williams before so I was so excited to share it with her.

We arrived around noon and since we didn’t have any appointments we were able to take our time doing whatever we wanted in the women’s spa section. So after we got changed and into our spa clothes (I just bring a bathing suit with me), we immediately headed to the hot tub for some relaxation. Since it was a weekday, we pretty much had the place to ourselves which was pretty awesome. So we just soaked in the hot tub and enjoyed spa water and the cool wash cloths that they had there.

After a little while, we were getting a bit warm so we went into the misting room which is basically like a cool steam room. It felt so nice to be in there! It was a really hot day (over 100 degrees outside) so being in a nice cool room felt great. I think we were in there the longest. And once we were nice and cool, we went back to where the steam room and sauna were. We decided to skip the steam room and went into the sauna. It was so hot (we joked how it felt similar to what it felt like outside) so we only lasted in there for a few minutes.

Then it was back to the hot tub for some more soaking before we decided we were ready to leave. We were there for over an hour which is a pretty decent amount of time to sit and relax. We ended up in the sauna one more time because we used it as a way to dry off after rinsing off (I took a shower so I wouldn’t smell like chlorine). It was a really smart idea and I was able to get my bathing suit much drier than I would have without the sauna.

After our spa time, we were both feeling a bit hungry. And the mall that Burke Williams is located in also has a Cheesecake Factory so we decided to stop there for a late lunch.

We didn’t get any cheesecake, but the food is still good. I got my usual salad that I almost always get there and it felt like the perfect post-spa meal. And getting time to hang out with an awesome friend and just be silly and gossip was exactly what I needed to do. Things have been a bit more stressful for me than I would like and I know that a lot of that stress is coming from me. But having an afternoon where the focus was on just relaxing really helped. I felt so separated from my regular life and stress while we were at the spa and after we left I was happy that the stress didn’t come back the way I thought it might.

While some of my stress is gone, not all of it is. But the good thing about the stress that is left is that I seem to have a bit more clarity on some things. Maybe I just needed a break from my normal life to step away and figure out what I need to do. I’m so glad that my friend needed some fun things to do this week because it gave me the perfect excuse to do a fun thing for myself and not feel any guilt about it. I was being lazy and relaxing at the spa, but I was also hanging out with an awesome friend and feeling like I was taking time for myself without worrying if I should be doing it or not.

I’ve got a few more spa passes left, so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to make it to the spa again soon. And I want to get another facial from my friend Michelle so that would be an opportunity to go to the spa but not have to use one of my passes. I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to make it back, but it’s something in my head now that I know I need to do more often for my mental health.

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Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged Burke Williams, friends, relaxation, spa

Spa Day! (or It’s Almost Like Being At Disneyland)

Posted on July 27, 2017 | 1 comment

After I had my eye appointment, I had to rush out to get over to Santa Monica. All the stress I felt at the doctor was about to be wiped away because I had an appointment to get a facial at the Burke Williams spa in Santa Monica!

I’ve been to Burke Williams before, but never to the Santa Monica location. But I’ve driven past it probably hundreds of times because it’s right by so many other places I go to in that area. But this was an extra special adventure to Burke Williams because my Disneyland girls would be there!

Michelle works there and does facials and she told us that we should come in for facials sometime. And it worked out well to go this past week so Dani and I made appointments back to back with Michelle. Since I had my doctor appointment, Dani took the first appointment and I got there while she was already being worked on by Michelle. But it was fine since I wanted to take my time getting relaxed after a bit of a stressful morning. And as soon as I went up the elevator to the spa, I could feel my body calm down.

Each Burke Williams has a lot of similar stuff, but they are all different. This one was the first one I’ve been do where it wasn’t as isolated from the outside world, and I kind of liked that. When you were in the lounge area, there was a balcony that you could go onto that looked over Downtown Santa Monica.

When I checked in for my appointment, I was given a quick tour of the spa. They have a lot of the same amenities that the other spas had like the hot tubs, steam rooms, and saunas. Plus the locker room had showers with anything you might need and a nice vanity area where you could do your hair and makeup. I was shown where my locker was and I changed out of my clothes and put on my swimsuit and the robe that they provided.

I looked around at the different amenities and then headed out to the lounge to wait for Michelle to finish Dani’s facial. The three of us chatted for a minute before Dani headed back to hang out in the steam room and Michelle brought me back to the facials room.

I’ve had facials lots of times, but this was the first time it was a friend of mine doing it. It was a bit weird, but I think acknowledging that it was weird helped to make it seem less weird. There’s no reason it should feel odd and it’s probably better that a friend is working on my skin since she knows what is normal and not normal for me.

Most of the time when I’m getting a beauty treatment like a facial, I’m quiet and that’s my time to relax. But since it was Michelle working on me, we kind of used that time as gossip hour. We were catching up on life since it’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen each other and both of us have had some fun things going on in life. While it wasn’t probably as calming of an experience as most of my spa ones are, this was just as fun if not more since it was just like hanging out when we are at Disneyland.

After my facial was done, I headed back to the locker room area to find Dani and we headed to the hot tub. And since Michelle was done working then she came back to join us! It was nice hanging out in the hot tub and socializing. It was really relaxing and I’ve realized how much I’ve missed getting to be in a hot tub. And since that day I had a workout plus the doctor appointment, I really needed to be able to relax and calm down. This was exactly what I needed.

We had our same catching up and gossip as a group as we do at Disneyland. And we did talk about when we would be back at Disneyland. There’s a small chance we will be going in about a month, but that depends on a few scheduling things we all have.

After about 30 minutes in the hot tub, it was time to get out and get ready to leave. I took a quick shower there (I wish I had more time because the shower was pretty awesome!) and changed and met Dani and Michelle in the lobby so we could pay. Michelle had to park pretty far away so we drove her back to her car (she had to get home to do some errands with her boyfriend) and Dani and I drove to The Counter to get some burgers for dinner.

Probably not the best thing to get after a spa day, but it was exactly what I was craving and it was delicious!

I have a feeling that this spa outing will become a somewhat regular thing for us. Michelle did an amazing job on my skin and I feel like it’s still glowing now! I used to be better about my skin care and this has inspired me to get back to that. Facials are good to do a few times a year and I’m hopefully going to be able to do that. And now that I don’t feel awkward having a friend work on my skin, it will be even more fun the next time I have Michelle do my facial!

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Posted in Beauty, Fun Stuff

Tagged Burke Williams, facial, friends, relaxation, spa

Another Spa Adventure (or A Belated Birthday Celebration)

Posted on September 30, 2013 | Comments Off

I mentioned back in June that my friend Kate turned 30. For her birthday, I told her that I would take her to Burke Williams. Somehow, time got away from us and the summer went by without us going to the spa. But now with me unemployed again my schedule was nice and open and we finally went to the spa this past Friday!

We went to the Burke Williams in West Hollywood, which is where I went to the Spa Night Out event earlier this year. And I finally got to get the anti-aging facial that I won at the event!

As soon as we entered these doors, we were in spa paradise.

I had learned from when I went to the Burke Williams in San Francisco that you want to get to the spa nice and early so you can enjoy all the amenities. Kate and I got to the spa about an hour and a half before our treatments. We first had a tour of the spa (I only saw parts of it at the event and Kate had never been there before). Then it was time for relaxation!

First we went into the hot tub. They had aromatherapy wash cloths next to the hot tub so we both grabbed those and sat back and relaxed. We also spent some time just chatting and catching up (fortunately there weren’t a bunch of people there so we didn’t feel bad talking). After the hot tub we went into the cold mist room. I hated the cold mist room in San Francisco, but in West Hollywood is was exactly what you would expect. There were chairs in there and you just sat back and let the cold mist fall on you. Next we tried the sauna, but I’m not a huge fan of dry heat. We were only in there for a few minutes. And then we went to the steam room. That was nice until the steam machine turned on and it was so loud! We decided to head out of there after that.

We still have plenty of time before our appointments so we did another cycle of the hot tub and cold mist room before walking out to the lounge area to wait to be called.

I’ve had facials before, but never an anti-aging facial (I still think I’m a little young to have to worry about that). But it was really fun. There were the traditional facial things (cleansing, facial massage, extractions, masque, moisturizing), but there were also two different peels. The first peel was very tingling. But I guess that’s how you know it’s working! The second peel didn’t tingle or burn at all. When it was all done, I did look a little red, but nothing too bad (I just looked like I had had a little sun).

It has been a few days and my skin looks amazing! I don’t know if this is something I will do on a regular basis (it’s a little out of my price range right now while I’m working on paying down my credit card debit), but it was a very nice treat!

Thank you Burke Williams for another amazing day! I’m so tempted to get the monthly membership just so I can enjoy the amenities there more often!

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Posted in Beauty, Celebrations, Fun Stuff

Tagged birthday, Burke Williams, facial, spa

Burke Williams San Francisco (or Sharing One Of My New Favorite Places)

Posted on May 1, 2013 | Comments Off

After the dress fitting and buying last-minute swimsuits, Krystle, Anna, and I headed over to the last part (and in my opinion best part!) of our girls day: the spa!

I had connected with some people from Burke Williams at the event I went to last month, and they invited me to come and check out the spa in San Francisco!

The San Francisco Burke Williams is located on the 5th floor of the Westfield Mall conveniently only a few blocks away from the dress fitting!

At the top of the escalators, we saw the spa.

We went though the main doors…

and seriously entered paradise!

(photo courtesy of Burke Williams and The Ace Agency)

We got to the spa the recommended hour before our first treatments, but I feel like we should have gotten there way earlier as there was so much we could do!

First of all, here is our before picture outside of the Ladies section of the spa.

Inside, there was the locker room area (with fabulous robe and slippers waiting for us inside). We changed into our swimsuits and robes, and headed to the women’s only whirlpool.

(photo courtesy of Burke Williams and The Ace Agency)

Besides the whirlpool in there, there was a cold misting room, sauna, and steam room. All of this was ladies only, so that was really nice!

We started out in the whirlpool, which was wonderful! There was cucumber fruit water right next to it, so we enjoyed that while we relaxed. Then we checked out the cold misting room next. It was a bit cold for us, but it would have been really nice if we had gone from the sauna or steam room into there. Next was the steam room. They had chilled wash cloths right outside, so we grabbed some and headed in.

The steam room was super hot (which is how I like it), and the 3 of us just sat back, relaxed, and put the chilled wash cloths on our faces.

After a while, we decided to head back into the whirlpool until it was time for our first appointments.

Just before 3pm, we headed outside of the ladies area into the co-ed waiting room. Krystle was taken back for her first treatment (Emilee’s Intrigue) and then I was taken back for my first treatment (Parafango Treatment). Anna didn’t have an appointment until 5pm, so she went back to the ladies area and hung out in the steam room and whirlpool some more.

My treatment was beyond anything I could have expected! First, I got a dry exfoliation. Then I had a salt scrub. After that, Parafango mud (similar to paraffin) was coated on my body on top of the salt scrub. Then I flipped over and had it done on the other side. Next, I was wrapped in a thermal blanket while I got an express facial! Once the mask was on for my facial, I was unwrapped, and escorted back to the ladies area so I could shower off all the mud and salt. I also washed my hair quickly since I was advised not to shower after my treatment was over. Finally, after showering I was escorted back to the treatment room where I was moisturized.

Seriously, my skin has never looked or felt so amazing! They recommend you get this treatment 4 times a year, and I’d love to be able to do that. Even now, several days later, my skin feels amazing!

After my treatment was done, I met Krystle and Anna back in the waiting room. Krystle looked so relaxed and calm after her treatment. I decided to use this break between treatments to dry my hair. Inside of the ladies area was a nice vanity area.

(photo courtesy of Burke Williams and The Ace Agency)

There were hair dryers, flat irons, curling irons, and tons of clean hair brushes to use. I quickly dried my hair (I styled it later when I was getting dressed), and went back out to the waiting area to meet up with the other girls.

At 5pm, Anna had a facial and Krystle and I got pedicures. I love getting pedicures and this was pretty fancy. We got heated blankets and neck rolls and the massage chair was so much better than the one at the nail salon I normally go to! It was the perfect addition to our earlier treatments.

After we were all done, we met up again and started to get ready to leave. I took advantage of using the flat iron in the vanity area so I would have to do it back at my brother and Krystle’s place. I had also packed some of my makeup to put on as well. That way, all I had to do to get ready for dinner that night was change my clothes.

Sadly, it was time to leave after that (we had dinner reservations). We all looked so relaxed on the way out.

I’m seriously considering becoming a member at the Burke Williams by my house. You get discounted treatments and a free treatment each month. Even though I try to pamper myself every once in a while, this was a whole different experience. I normally go for the cheap options, but I learned that sometimes spending a little more means getting a whole lot more!

I still have the free facial that I won to the Burke Williams by me, so I’m thinking of using that near my birthday. And Krystle and I have already decided that we are going to make going to Burke Williams something we do twice a year together (around her birthday and around my birthday which are about 6 months apart).

Thank you Burke Williams for inviting us to the spa so we could have an amazing girls day. This was the perfect end to the day that we had!

FTC Disclosure: I was given one free treatment and a discounted treatment by Burke Williams and The Ace Agency to review for this post. My guests also received discounted treatments. All opinions written were my own and were not influenced by Burke Williams or The Ace Agency

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Posted in Beauty, Fun Stuff, Travel

Tagged Burke Williams, facial, pampered, pedicure, San Francisco, spa

Spa Night Out (or Why Burke Williams Might Have Beaten Disneyland As The Happiest Place On Earth)

Posted on April 1, 2013 | Comments Off

About a week ago, I had seen on Facebook a discount code for tickets to Spa Night Out. I wasn’t exactly sure what Spa Night Out was, but I saw that it was going to be at Burke Williams and there was a gift bag, so I figured why not! I was just hoping for a better experience than I had at Pamper Me Fabulous.

And boy oh boy was this an amazing experience!

First of all, there were some amazing hosts (and they didn’t pay me or give me free tickets to say this, these are my own opinions). The event was hosted by Eventbrite and Spaphile. I was already familiar with Eventbrite. They are an online ticketing service that I already love. I’ve bought a ton of tickets through them, and we used them for tickets for the screening of my twitter documentary. But Spaphile has now become one of my new favorite things. They are a membership program that connects spas to customers by offering discounts! I love spas and I love discounts! I did buy a membership after this event because I have already planned a bunch of places that I want to try with my discount.

Anyway, back to the event. There were a ton of free things to check out. And by free, I actually mean free!

My first stop was the mini-manicure/polish change station.

I decided on the OPI color Jade Is The New Black.

I almost never get my nails done because I always seems to chip so fast. But since this was free, I had to do it! And I have to say that after 3 days, I don’t have any chips yet!

My next stop on my spa journey was to the moisturizing hand massage station.

(sorry for the bad photos, I only had my iPhone with me)

The hand massage was wonderful, and the lotion that was used smelled delicious! Plus, I had a very nice chat with the woman who was doing the massage, so that was fun.

Finally, I got to have my mini-massage. With the ticket I bought I wasn’t guaranteed it, but I put myself on the waitlist as soon as I arrived, and I managed to snag one of the very last mini-massage appointments of the evening! It was wonderful. The massage therapist asked me which areas I would like him to focus on, and since I spend so much time hunched over a computer, iPhone, or iPad; I asked for him to focus on my neck, shoulders, and back. It was so relaxing, and pretty long for a mini-massage. It was about 25 minutes!

Finally, it was time for me to head out. I stopped by the front desk to pick up my gift bag (which was filled with so many amazing goodies!).

And the woman behind the desk said I also had this waiting for me.

When I checked in for the event, there was a fishbowl to put business cards in to. They had a raffle, and of course I entered, but I never win so I wasn’t expecting anything.

Turns out, I won the grand prize!!!

I get to come back to Burke Williams in West Hollywood to have a free facial! I’m so excited for this!

Also in the gift bag were some passes to come back to the spa and enjoy some discounted treatments. I will totally be taking advantage of those. While I was waiting for my massage, I was reading the spa menu and they have a lot of treatments that I’d love to try.

Overall, I have to say that this was one of the best evenings I’ve had in a long time. I was coming off a bit of a funk before this event, and this seemed to have turn everything around!

Thanks again to Eventbrite and Spaphile for hosting this event. If you see another event that they are hosting, I highly recommend getting a ticket for it (I know I’ll be!)!

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Tagged Burke Williams, event, EventBrite, spa

Tag Archives: Burke Williams

Time For A Spa Day (or This Is Exactly What I Needed To Do)

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