Beauty-full Places

Beauty-full Places

By Georgina Cruz

There are places that are beautiful, and places that are also beauty-full. These are breathtaking, lovely locales that also make you lovely: whether with local products or with services (or both) that promote beauty. Here are some near and far to consider for a beauty-full escape or vacation.

  • Florida’s Treasure Coast – Famous for the treasure of the 1715 Spanish fleet that sank off its shores and gave it its moniker of Treasure Coast, as well as for its beaches, bays and lagoons, this area of Florida is also home to a rich citrus heritage since the 1800s when area settlers began cultivating citrus destined to become among the best in the world.

Costa d’Este hotel in Vero Beach.

The goodness of citrus is not just enjoyed in fresh fruits, juices, marmalades and other edible items, but also in health and beauty products such as soaps, lotions and shampoos. And for additional pampering, in treatments at local Treasure Coast spas. These include singer Gloria Estefan’s spa at her Costa d’Este hotel in Vero Beach. Among the treatments that employ citrus are a Body Firming Polish (50 min., $155). That uses the spa’s organic collection of citrus kombucha body wash, ginger lime scrub and body firming serum and then ends with a warm coconut argon oil drizzled onto the body; and a Citrus Fusion Body Glow (50 min., $140) that features a full body sugar scrub exfoliation and rich, citrus infused body lotion. Info: https://www.costadeste.com/verobeach_spa/services/.

Disney Vero Beach Resort & Spa

Citrus-inspired treatments can also be enjoyed at the seaside Disney Vero Beach Resort & Spa. A full-service spa and salon, it offers a variety of massage and beauty treatments. A popular offering is the spa’s Signature Massage (80 min., $190). It is a traditional hand massage utilizing warm volcanic basalt stones and a choice of tropical or citrus essential oils. The treatment is completed with an organic coconut or grapefruit face mask and soothing eye treatment. The experience is designed to connect the guest to the peaceful surroundings of the beach.

Perhaps connecting the guests even more to the beach and the tropics is the Citrus Vichy Shower Scrub (45 min., $95). This treatment exfoliates the skin with pineapple or orange blossom sugar blended with shea butter, olive oil and glycerin followed by application of pineapple or orange blossom lotion. Info: https://verobeach.disney.go.com/recreation/spa/.

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  • Tahiti, French Polynesia – The beauty of French Polynesia is legendary: Green-clad mountains, aquamarine lagoons, cascades and idyllic atolls. Oh, and the lovely dances of the islands! Have you ever wondered how those beautiful dancers in traditional shows in Tahiti and other parts of French Polynesia keep their skin and hair glowing so healthily? They credit the local monoi oil. It is a perfumed-oil made by soaking the petals of the tiare flower (sometimes called Tahitian gardenia) in coconut oil. It is used as a skin and hair softener. If you have any doubts about its efficacy, just look at those Tahitian dancers! Visitors to French Polynesia can check out The Route of Monoi in the breathtaking island of Moorea, with various points of interest including the Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa, offering treatments using monoi oil. Monoi oil products such as Monoi Tiki Tahiti Tiare can be purchased at various spots throughout French Polynesia. This includes the Municipal Market in the center of Papeete, Tahiti. The oil is often used in cosmetics lines such as NARS. While you wait to get to Tahiti, many of these products can be purchased online at Amazon and other sites. Info: www.tahiti-tourisme.com.

 

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

  • A site of other-worldly beauty, The Blue Lagoon, about 45 minutes from the island’s capital of Reykjavik is such a must-see in Iceland that not going there could be likened to going to Paris and missing the Eiffel Tower. The lagoon has a milky blue color. It is fed by hot springs. The lagoon is surrounded by lava fields from various volcanic eruptions. Visitors can see piles of black, hardened lava by its sides –very impressive sights!

The blue waters of the lagoon are rich in minerals, silica and algae. It is believed to be beneficial for the skin.

After showering, visitors can just walk into the lagoon and luxuriate in its warm waters. They can then also opt for a private lounge facility at The Blue Lagoon. This facility has a lounge with a fireplace, refreshments, private showers.  Best of all it has an indoor spring-fed pool with an entrance to the lagoon. You can soak in the hot waters there contentedly when the weather is chilly outside. While still in the water, use the private entrance into the open-air lagoon, with plumes of steam rising from its blue waters. This way your body is already warm.  You can also exit the lagoon through the lounge’s entrance and pool. Those opting for the private lounge facility are given a volcanic scrub. Then an algae mask to put on our faces and bodies –a lovely, natural spa treatment.

While you cannot get to the Blue Lagoon, you can still order its products online including silica mud masks, creams and lip balms. Visit https://shop-usa.bluelagoon.com/.

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  • Posted 6 years ago

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