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Bathing Beauties  
Home and Away

Advice from top day spas across the West about creating your own spa at home—from their favourite read or an evocative scent, to the best tricks for setting the mood (glass of syrah, anyone?).


       

The Spa
Vancouver’s Skoah, known for its modernist approach to spa design.

Who
Spa director Martine Yen


Recommended Reading

Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “It’s an
adventure story that is strange, funny, expressive and fascinating all at the same time—how believing in something sincerely can make it real.”


Bring the Spa Home

Yen recommends lighting a few of
Skoah’s Glow-ah Kandles: they’re candle light, aromatherapy
and—believe it or not—massage oil
all in one. Once the candle is extinguished, the melted oil can be
used to soothe aching muscles.

 

The Spa
Fort Garry’s Ten Spa, featuring the only Turkish hammam in the Winnipeg area.

Who

Spa director Elena Zinchenko.


Recommended Reading

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. “Lately I’ve been recommending it to everyone,” says Zinchenko. “It’s about law of attraction, what makes you successful in life.”

Musical Interlude

Each section of the spa plays different types of music, ranging from quiet lounge music to a spa-worthy interpretation of techno.

Bring the Spa Home

Zinchenko recommends fresh scents of dark bergamot and citrus in the room, like those found in Ten Spa itself.

 


 
 


The Spa

SwizzleSticks SalonSpa,
Calgary’s first day spa.

Who
Team leader Ross Hahn


Recommended Reading

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. “I read newspapers and magazines and periodicals about what’s going on in the world,” says Hahn, “and when you get a chance to read a book you want one that’s fantastical and fun.”

Bring the Spa Home
“Make sure that you have the kids taken care of and you’re all alone and you have an hour or 90 minutes to relax,” says Hahn. “You can’t spa in 20 minutes.”

 


The Spa

Eveline Charles Spa,
with locations in Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna and Vancouver.

Who
Owner Eveline Charles


Recommended Reading

Good to Great by Jim Collins. Collins investigated what it took for a simply good company to become a great one— discovering that many of them shared traits that challenged conventional notions of corporate success.

Scents Appeal
Eveline Charles Spas infuse their towels and candles with the fresh and citrusy scent of blood orange.


Bring the Spa Home
For home moisturizing, pick up a spa cream, like EC’s Coco-Mango hydrating lotion—it’s less oily than store-brand varieties.

 

 

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