Spa Life: Esme Beauty + Floral Bar – Calgary

By: Colleen Seto

Even on a stormy winter morning, entering Esmé Beauty & Floral Bar is like finding an oasis. Located in a charming old house on Calgary’s busy pedestrian strip, 17th Avenue, Esmé offers an array of beauty services such as manis, pedis and waxing.

I’m in for a Petite Manicure with a quick shaping and cuticle care. I decide to give gel polish a whirl for an additional $10. Manicures don’t last long for me, but I’m told the gel polish holds up much longer. (And it does, though you need pure acetone to remove it.)

With my nails shiny and hands moisturized, I move to the comfy pedicure stations with their giant foot-soaking bowls for a Naturale Pedicure, which adds a leg and foot massage to the usual pedi experience.

My esthetician Lise offers me a bowl of their in-house made popcorn. It’s delicious. I mean, REALLY delicious. Flavoured with sea salt, coconut oil, honey, truffle oil, and nutritional yeast, it’s a snack I could eat all day. Lise also happens to be a Certified Holistic Nutritionist, and she provides nutritional consultations to Esmé guests as well as hosts information sessions on topics such as fermenting foods for healthy skin.

Nutrition aside, Lise also gives me one of the best pedicures I’ve ever had. My feet were impossibly smooth afterwards. (To give you an idea of what they were like before she started, my husband calls me, “sandpaper feet.”)

If skincare is what you’re after, Esmé also offers a full gamut of treatments including make-up application. Facial treatments range from a 75-minute ultimate to a quickie 30-minute microtone. You can choose from Dermologica products or try Esmé’s own botanical line of skin care.

And speaking of botanical, you can’t ignore the gorgeous fresh florals throughout the salon. Juxtaposed against the clean crisp white and black interior are colourful bursts of blooms and greenery that make the space so inviting. That’s because owner Angela O’Donoghue is actually a florist by trade. She’s turned her love of beautiful things into Esmé.

Whether you love hand-tied bouquets, outdoor arrangements or modern blooms, Angela can make something stunning to your liking. And if you’re thinking of a spa/salon gift, what better way to top off a pampering session than with beautiful flowers for your loved one to take home with them? Pure genius.

For more info, visit Esme Spa in Calgary online.

— Colleen Seto

 

Photos courtesy of Esmé Beauty & Floral Bar + Sue Moodie Photography

 

 

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