Beauty on the Road: NJ’s Blu Salon

Right after Fashion Week, I came down with the flu – and the back-to-back abuse to my system had me looking a mess.

Blu Salon

Because of that, I was super grateful when New Jersey’s fabulous Melina James, owner of Blu Salon invited me out for a day of recoup (and beauty!).

Melina is the sweetest person ever, and her entire staff clearly likes each other. I told her how rare that is – I’m used to NYC salons where the guy cutting your hair likely last night had a drunken one-nighter with the girl who colored your hair, and now everyone is snickering about it behind their backs. There’s also none of that haute-salon elitism – and you can tell by the huge range in age and lifestyles of the clients who come in throughout the day.

My day started with a relaxing Swedish massage with Albert Agnello, my very first massage from a guy – I think I’m hooked. They are way better at working on those tight spots!

Next, I got quite possibly the best facial of my life with Jill Turano – we gabbed about everything from food to boys as she gave my skin some serious recuperation. We spoke a lot about the products I use, and my skincare regime – as a product junkie, I am not often loyal to a single line or ritual, and this is bad. But the important thing is to cleanse morning and night, no matter how tired or drunk we may be! Jill said though that I had good skin, and we spoke about the importance of keeping it good – and that involves hydration. Since then, I’ve been attempting 8 glasses a day of water, and am seeing a difference already! Later in the day, Jill gave me a makeup touchup – I was looking for that sexy “looks like I am not wearing makeup look, but actually am” – and that’s exactly what she gave me! I maintain that while men THINK they don’t want us wearing makeup, they actually do…and the key to happiness is letting them think they are getting what they want, even though we are.

The rest of my day was just as blissful – Angelica Pulgarin gave my nails and toes a touch of shimmery navy – I’m all about the dark colors in fall, and everyone says they are perfect on me! – and then creative director Stephanie Atwell finished me off with a blowout. I so wish I had taken before/after pix – I feel a little remiss that I forgot to – because by the end of the day, it was truly night and day. I left looking like a princess! A very relaxed one, at that.

I love, love, love Blu Salon – it has a very chic – and I normally avoid using the word chic – oasis-like aspect. Full of comfy couches and girlie colors of pink and black, you feel like you are at a trendy bar, hot spa, and cozy lounge…all at the same time. Plus, they have candy out and about for guests…you ain’t lived until you had m&m’s with your manicure.

And, how’s this for exciting news? ANY reader who goes to the salon and mentions me or my blog during the month of November gets a $20 gift card! As the prices are surprisingly reasonable there – that’ll go a long way!