Elizabeth Arden revolutionized the world of beauty the way Coco Chanel did fashion. With a firm belief that beauty went beyond makeup, Arden opened her first salon with its eye-catching red door in New York in 1910 and went on to develop rouge, tinted powder, eye makeup and 108 skin care products by 1920. The second Elizabeth Arden salon opened in Washington, D.C. in 1914, with a total of 29 open worldwide by 1929. At the time of her death in 1966, her empire was worth $60 million.

The 32nd Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa opened Sept. 12 at The Bravern in Bellevue. This 6,000-square-foot spa features nine treatment rooms, manicure stations and pedicure thrones, makeup application and consultation areas, a hair salon and a retail area with an impressive array of product lines, including, of course, Elizabeth Arden.

The relaxation room is light, bright and — well, relaxing, in a nontraditional type of way. That is to say, it deviates from the standard dimly lit relaxation rooms one often sees in spas, where guests pad around quietly and speak in hushed tones. On one side of the room a few tables and chairs are set up for meals offered by Wild Ginger, should guests want to dine before or after a treatment; and on the other side is a comfortable seating area with complimentary coffee, tea and water.

The spa offers a thorough and decadent menu of services, with facials ranging from $75 for the Time Saver Facial to $180 for the Ultimate Arden Facial, which pairs a facial with a warm stone massage and lip or brow wax. Massages range from $75 for the 25-minute Time Saver Massage to $220 for the 110-minute Signature Stress Melter Ritual that includes an olive oil scrub, aromatherapeutic body wrap, and massage. Complimentary makeup touch-ups are offered with facials and other services based on availability. Custom-blended foundation is made to order and costs $62 for one ounce; free quarter-ounce samples are available as well.

The spa is offering a Warm Welcome Package that includes a signature massage or facial; a warm cream manicure or shampoo, blow-dry and finish; and a makeup refresher for $120 (normally a $141-$161 value) from now until November 15. Call 425-455-3700 for more information and to make an appointment.

The Red Door Spa is located at The Shops at The Bravern, 700 110th Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA 98004; 425-455-3700. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

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This year will be my third Mother’s Day as a mom, and I’m really starting to get the hang of it. When my husband asked me what our toddler should get me for my special day, I said “spa treatment” without missing a beat.

One of my favorite spots for relaxing and de-stressing is South Lake Union’s Vida Spa, and they’re offering a slew of specials right now that are easy on the pocketbook and perfect Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Vida is hosting a catered Mother Daughter Spa Day on Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10. Book a 60-minute facial or massage and enjoy a complimentary brunch featuring foods tailored to your specific Ayurvedic body type, as well as a gift card for a free eyebrow shape ($25 value). Space is limited, so reserve your appointment now.

If you’re plagued by insomnia like I am, give the Nidra Sleep Treatment (60 minutes for $135) a try. The Nidra Sleep Treatment involves an aromatherapy massage that focuses on the scalp, temples, neck and shoulders.

Trained therapists customize a sleep prescription based on your dosha (body type) and you leave with an eye pillow and lavender bath salts to continue the relaxation at home. Book your appointment in the evening so you can roll home and right into bed for some sweet slumber.

Need a quick and affordable targeted treatment? Pick from Vida’s three 30-minute. $50 De-Stress Express services. Options include the Tension Target Massage, the Hand and Foot Therapy and the 30-minute Facial.

Offers cannot be combined. 

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In several ways, De’Spa Elite in downtown Detroit is like any other spa, with offerings that include Swedish massages, facials and manicures.

Then again, it’s not.

Owner Carolyn Hopkins says its alternative therapies make the spa “unique in the way that it focuses with people to detoxify” their bodies. Such treatments include Tong Ren, which seeks to unblock interruptions to what’s believed to be the body’s flow of energy, and Raindrop Therapy, a massage of medicinal oils.

These methods may sound unorthodox, but practitioners say they have desirable effects.

Linda Kent, who does Tong Ren ($75 for 50 minutes) by pounding a magnetic hammer against a rubber doll at specific points while her clients sit or lie down and relax, says “energy medicine is the new medicine for this century.” The tapping supposedly transfers energy to her clients to help alleviate ailments like allergies.

Denise Purdy practices Raindrop Therapy ($75 for 50 minutes), which focuses on the feet and the spine and uses extracts from plants and herbs like cypress, wintergreen and marjoram.

Another therapy, foot detoxification ($45 per half-hour session), allegedly draws toxins out from the body through the feet.

Dr. Michael Seidman, medical director of wellness at the Henry Ford Health System, says the value of these alternative therapies is debatable.

“When you ask me, ‘Does it sound crazy?’ My answer is ‘Yes,’ ” says Seidman. “But my response is also that it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong just because we don’t understand it.”

Seidman adds that there could be a psychosomatic element, that “if you believe that you’re going to feel better and reduce your stress, then you probably will.”

Tracey Stevenson, 42, of Redford Township, recently visited the spa and soaked a foot in a tub of water infused with sea salt.

A flipped switch started an ionic charge that sent prickles through the water and tingles through Stevenson’s foot. As her foot soaked, the water turned from a hazy clear to a dusty orange to an inky, bubbly black.

The program, called Aqua-Chi, supposedly draws out toxins and material from the dermal layer of the skin. Changes in water colors are supposed to indicate the detoxification of different parts of the body, such as orange for the joints and black for the liver.

Stevenson says she wasn’t skeptical about the treatment, “just intrigued. I’ve spent time and money on the outside” of my body. “With this, I spend money on the inside.”

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At Peace Floatation Spa: Where ‘East Meets West’ in Floating Therapy At Peace Floatation Spa – with their television debut on Home and Lifestyle Television – is quickly gaining attention with their European-styled and famous Floatation therapy. Floatation Therapy consists of floating in 12-inches of body-tempered water, made incredibly dense with 800 pounds of toxin-extracting Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). “The goal is to float away stress, aches, pains and toxins; giving the body a rejuvenated and deepened state of relaxation,” says At Peace Spa owner and former Texas Ranger first baseman, Pete O’Brien.

Research has proven that stress and inflammation can wreak havoc on our bodies and is often the preliminary symptom to many illnesses. The zero-gravity environment provides relief to all of the body’s intersystems, such as skeletal, muscular, circulatory, neurological and more. It’s such a deep relaxation because there are no pressure points. “In fact,” continues O’Brien, “it has been reported that a one-hour floatation experience is equivalent to four hours of restorative sleep, and similar to a 3-day fast for detoxification.”

The spa opened in the summer of 2008 as the only place in North Texas to experience floatation therapy. Its spa-like and tranquil environment enhances the mind/body relationship for individual healing, wellness and enhances overall performance. Everyone floats for different reasons: Some for chronic pain or stress management (arthritis, inflammation, fibromyalgia, etc.), others for speeding the recovery process due to surgery or injury, increasing visualization/creativity, meditation, jet lag, insomnia, reducing stress hormones, detoxification (especially when added to a massage), stimulating brain waves and so much more.

The introductory special is hard to pass up. Three one-hour floatation sessions for $120 to first time clients. A package including one hour of floatation followed by a one hour massage is also priced at a great value of $125. These make excellent choices for gift giving because it is such a new and rejuvenating experience, anyone would love it. A variety of membership packages are available that include free massages, friends/family passes and more.

At Peace Floatation Spa, The Fountains at Riverwalk, 1304 Glade Road, Suite #300, Colleyville, Texas 76034.

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The new Urban Yoga Spa at Fourth and Stewart is a contemporary Downtown sanctuary that combines upstairs spa services with a downstairs yoga practice. And while the spa may not have reinvented the wheel in terms of the services it offers, the selection is varied and includes some affordable express treatments.

Facials range from $45 for 30 minutes to $125 for 90 minutes; massages from $50 for 30 minutes to $120 for 90 minutes. Manicures are $25 to $30, and pedicures are $40 to $65; combine the two for $55. Waxing starts at $15 for lip, chin or jaw line, and tops out at $80 for a Brazilian. Eyelash extensions are $200 for a full set.

The spa also offers treatments for men and pregnant women, as well as one-and-a-half to five-hour packages ($120-$308).

With its stark white walls, cabinetry, and manicure and pedicure stations, the sleek spa acts as a kind of sensory deprivation chamber, isolating you from the hubbub of the city, which you can glimpse through large windows.

Urban Yoga Spa offers hot yoga, which can burn up to 1,000 calories per session. Classes are held in heated studios (95 to 105 degrees) and cost $18 each. Buy a five-class package ($80) and save $10, or a 10-class package and save $40.

One-month, three-month and annual packages are also available, as well as donation-based classes on Saturdays and Sundays, and a Karma Yogi program that allows patrons to clean the spa in exchange for free yoga classes.

The spa’s Raw program provides raw organic lunches ($12.50) Monday through Friday, prepared by local chef Adam Lewis. Lunches include such temptations as raw tacos, coconut noodle pad Thai and dark chocolate made with cacao, agave and a touch of vanilla. Lunch orders must be placed by 2 p.m. the day prior, at (206) 422-0222.

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Elaia spa has opened in the Hyatt at Olive 8, Seattle’s soon-to-be LEED-certified hotel — the first hotel in the city to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

A member of the Green Spa Network, a nonprofit trade organization that promotes sustainable and eco-friendly practices in the spa industry, the 15,000-square-foot spa is committed to energy and water conservation, recycling, waste reduction, and the use of natural and organic products in their services.

Elaia (Greek for olive) features 12 treatment rooms with exquisite lighting that creates a warm, honeyed glow. Each room can accommodate multiple treatments, so there’s no need for guests to shuffle from room to room for their next service. (A good thing, since the spa’s hallway looks right onto the hotel’s parking circle.)

Elaia’s Market Fresh offerings are seasonally changing services that use fresh ingredients sourced from Washington state growers. Current Market Fresh treatments include a lavender mint scrub and a white lavender clay wrap ($120 each). Look forward to a cherry mint scrub and wrap in May.

Other treatments include the Elaia Signature massage, which uses certified organic olive oil from Oregon in a massage that blends Swedish and Thai techniques (60 minutes, $110). During the 75-minute Oxygen Glow facial ($175), vitamin-infused oxygen breathes new life into tired skin.

Careful attention to detail, such as customizable music, is apparent throughout the spa, though I did notice a kink or two to work out; I was assured by the spa manager that the incongruous bottle of Ajax I spied near the nail salon will be replaced by a non-chlorinated, environmentally friendly option.

Elaia’s guests also have access to the hotel’s whirlpool and 65-foot lap pool, which are purified through a saltwater system that eliminates the need for chlorine. You can hear music even underwater, and the pool is surrounded by huge windows that look out onto blossoming trees, reinforcing the feel of an oasis in the middle of the city.

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Tucked away near the heart of San Francisco’s Design Area in Potrero Hill, you will find fresh and effective skincare treatments to meet your every need. Oil & Water Skincare and Brow Design offers a variety of tantalizing, results-oriented skincare and waxing services in a soothing, professional environment. The subtle scents of lavender, citrus, geranium and rosemary will greet you upon entering, an introduction to the warm and inviting experience that follows

All treatments customized to your individual needs using Yon Ka Paris, Jan Marini Skin Research and Eminence Organics

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The lowdown: Besides offering the usual array of cosmetic and skin care goodies in an adult ”candy-store environment,” ULTA Beauty and Salon also boasts a top-notch salon on the second story of its historic Miami Beach building.

”We offer great stylists and therapists which provide top notch services at an affordable price with Miami Beach as the backdrop,” said salon manager Tina Tsoukalas. “Everyone deserves to get pampered without worrying about the price tag.”

The hood: ULTA is located at the busy Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue intersection and next to more affordable women’s clothing stores such as Rainbow. Make sure to arrive early, and be ready to walk a few blocks after parking at a metered spot or in the 17th Street garage, the closest and cheapest way to leave your vehicle resting while you get pampered.

The vibe: Think laid-back and affordable no-frills girly fun. Do some light shopping and try out some products, or escape to the salon for a blowout or a facial while flipping through magazines with some hot coffee or cold water.

The highlights: The salon’s signature Real Control Signature Style treatment ($60) features a shampoo, an intense Redken renewal treatment, deep conditioner, blow-out and flat-ironing. The Dermalogica Skin Treatment ($50) features cleansing, exfoliation, masque and moisturizing treatment — topped with a light foot and shoulder massage. NovaLash extensions start at $250 for a full set.

Discount for Miami Herald readers: Mention this story when you come into ULTA with a friend and get 25 percent off any service from select designers and skin therapists. Need another deal? Come in for a free hair consultation and receive a $20 gift card to use at the salon. Certain restrictions apply. Offer valid through Saturday.

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Now that the summer-like temperatures are here to stay, a detox and rejuvenating body treatment can get you ready for the beach and melt away stress built up from the winter months. The EO Inn and Spa will help you do just that, a beautiful boutique spa located in downtown Orlando.

It’s the perfect escape from the resort spas in Orlando, and is nestled in the upscale neighborhood of Thornton Park. A sampling of rejuvenating and detoxifying treatments at the EO Inn & Spa include:

* Tropical Escape Package: A Tropical Oasis Facial, Luminous ‘C’ and ‘Sea’ Facial and Swedish Massage – 2+ hours, $206
* Anti-Free Radical Facial: Perfect for dehydrated skin, this vitamin-enriched infusion facial will perk up skin after a long winter – 50 minutes, $85
* Aromatic Anti-Fatigue Moor Mud Body Treatment: Natural vitamins, minerals and enzymes are found in the Moor Mud used in this indulgent treatment designed to increase circulation and make stress disappear – 50 minutes, $60

The spa also offers 20% off all non-package services booked on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

If you think you’ll be too relaxed to drive back home or to your hotel, don’t worry; the venue offers overnight accommodations so you can rest up for the night in a deluxe room furnished with plush furniture and luxury amenities.

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