Scents of the Season

Spa specials help relax against the stress of the holidays

Carolyn Patten Health & Wellness

Natura Bissé’s body scrub at Estrella Spa has a delightful citrusy scent and leaves skin feeling like velvet.
Photo by Jakob Layman

 

Nothing evokes the holiday spirit like a slice of warm pumpkin pie and a chilled flute of Champagne.

So you can indulge without regret, some of Greater Palm Springs' top spas have whipped up zero-calorie holiday treats for stressed-out shoppers and travelers this month, from massages that smell like the best bakery shop on the planet to bubbly with beauty benefits.

Though pumpkin itself has practically no scent, the flesh is excellent for exfoliation and the seeds are full of antioxidants and essential fatty acids. Add the traditional pie spices — cinnamon to liven the senses, cardamom to destress and act as an aphrodisiac and nutmeg to warm — and you have a recipe for glowing skin, relaxed muscles, and a refreshed outlook to take you through year’s end.

 

photo courtesy of Omni Rancho Las Palmas

Spa-la-laing in a glamorous poolside cabana at Spa Las Palmas makes the season especially jolly.

 

At Spa Las Palmas, yummy holiday specials run through Dec. 19 and include a pumpkin facial with custom-designed lip treatment, a warm apple-sugar scrub to polish and a deeply hydrating body creme to add gleam, a vanilla chai massage with a blend of exotic oils and vanilla,. Add a mani-pedi that includes a cranberry-orange soak, oatmeal-pumpkin scrub, pumpkin mask and shea butter hydration.

The Spa at Riviera Palm Springs offers a spice body wrap just made for dehydrated, sun-damaged skin with its hydrating combo of shea butter and pumpkin seeds. Follow it with the peppermint stick pedicure, a treatment that uses fruit enzymes to gently smooth tired feet.

ChampSpa Sundays at the Spa celebrate all things Champagne, including a hydrating Champagne and rose facial that uses the fizzy drink to restore the skin’s lipid layer, rev up nutrient and oxygen levels and leave the skin hydrated and glowing. The Champagne scrub and mineral bath soak is a brightening and exfoliating treatment, the Champagne body wrap restores lost bounce, and the Champagne luxury hair treatment promises to turn back the clock to reveal shinier, more youthful appearing locks.

 

photo courtesy of Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs

Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs offers a Marshmallow Massage in December.

 

More holiday-oriented spa treats this month:

Special prices at Hard Rock Hotel’s Rock Spa through Dec. 24 on their sweet Marshmallow Massage and the Savor the Season body scrub with agave nectar body oil, honey and amber scrub and spice latte body milk. Mention “SpaGift” to receive a gift with services.

Through the end of December,the Estrella Spa at the Avalon is offering a special on spa gift certificates — buy two and get a third one free. All treatments at the Estrella feature luxurious Natura Bisse products.

 

Spa Las Palmas, Omni Rancho Las Palmas
41000 Bob Hope Dr, Rancho Mirage 760-568-2727
www.rancholaspalmas.com

The Spa at Riviera Palm Springs
1600 N. Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs
760-327-8311  
www.psriviera.com

Rock Spa/Hard Rock Hotel
150 S. Indian Canyon Dr, Palm Springs
760-325-9676
www.hrhpalmsprings.com

Estrella Spa at Avalon Hotel Palm Springs
415 S. Berardo Rd, Palm Springs
760-318-3000
www.avalonpalmsprings.com

 

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