Area spas, like Hela in Georgetown, make it easy to give the never-fails gift of pampering with special Mom's Day packages. Photograph courtesy of Hela Spa.
Treat Mom to a Makeover (Not That She Needs It)
Bluemercury’s Dupont store hosts Trish McEvoy makeup artists between 10 and 8 on May 10 and 11. Snag a makeover from the pros by booking via phone and purchasing two products. 1619 Connecticut Ave., NW; 202-462-1300.
Here’s a steal: A haircut, style, and makeup session at the opulent Karma by Erwin Gomez is $139 this month; $89 gets you an anti-aging facial and lip polish. Can’t make it right away? No worries—the deals are good through the end of the month. 1104 24th St., NW; 202-293-3333.
All photographs courtesy of Shobha.
With a cult following of beauty editors and celebrities already established in New York, the luxe waxing and threading salon Shobha will test the Washington waters when it opens its doors at 1730 M Street, Northwest, the first week of June. The DC location—Shobha’s very first outside of New York city lines—will offer the salon’s signature brow, body, and bikini treatments, including threading, sugaring (the formula is the owner’s family recipe), and waxing, as well as an assortment of at-home hair removal and skin-soothing products.
“We have a surprising amount of clients in Manhattan from Washington that have been asking us to open here for years, so it really felt like a natural progression for us to come here,” says Shobha Tummala, the salon’s founder, who herself relocated to DC in recent months.
Read on to get the first scoop on the upcoming Dupont store, Shobha’s signature services, and Tummala’s plans for world domination.
Why did you decide to open a Shobha salon in DC?
I started this company 12 years ago in New York when I saw a need in the market—a need I had myself—and we quickly grew to four salons throughout Manhattan. When I came to Washington a few years ago, I saw the same need, right as DC really started coming into its own on the retail/fashion/beauty front. I thought then that the time was right to start making plans. We’ve been so well embraced by the fashion community in Manhattan, and I feel like DC is, in many ways, a kindred spirit on the beauty front. This is a city full of gorgeous women who take impeccable care of themselves, and yet this is a need that is barely being addressed.
How is your salon different from other waxing salons?
From the remarkable quality of our treatments and products to the immaculate cleanliness of our salons, we believe in perfection—and in the continual improvement of everything Shobha. We strongly believe in educating ourselves and using what we have learned to evolve and grow so we can provide our clients with simple and practical ways to maintain their hair removal routine, because life can get hairy enough on its own.
As part of our company culture we have been committed to furthering the lives of South Asian women and children. We have sponsored the college education of ten women through Sarada Kalayan Bhandar and have contributed to School-on-Wheels, which converts old buses into mobile classrooms in Mumbai and Pune for street children, offering them an alternative to begging and teaching them that education is their way out of poverty. Most recently, we made a $100,000 contribution to Shobha’s Home for Girls & Women, which is dedicated to my grandparents. The home supports 60 girls and young women who range from preschool to college age. The home is run by two retired professors who value education and are making sure the orphans are cared for and able to attend school. It is our hope that these early philanthropic steps will lay the groundwork for a full-fledged nonprofit organization in the years to come.
Blowout Bar will open this Saturday at 2134 L Street. Photograph by Diana Elbasha.
The problem with getting a blowout in Washington is that if you work downtown, there’s some travel involved—unlike our Virginia, MoCo, and Georgetown neighbors, we don’t have the convenience of a standalone blow-dry salon in our ’hood. That is, until this weekend.
Look out for Blowout Bar, a chic blow-dry concept opening Saturday near Foggy Bottom (just blocks from our office!). In addition to five blowout styles—including Lola (meaning straight with body) and Stella (Hollywood waves)—at a flat rate of $35, the salon will offer updos, conditioning treatments, and house calls.
The girly, blowout-only concept is hardly new to the area. In January, we told you about Reston’s FLOW, and a few months earlier Drybar made its Washington debut—but as far as we know, Blowout Bar is the first of its kind to open downtown.
And it’s already gotten tons of excitement: In its two weeks on Twitter, the salon has already earned 22,000 followers, so our guess is the appointments will fill up super quickly. Luckily, as of today, you can book one online.
Additional opening info has been pretty hush-hush so far, but stay tuned—we’re on top of it.
Blowout Bar. 2134 L St., NW; 202-290-2109. Opens Saturday, March 30.
Give us your recommendations for the best spas, salons, and more in the area. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
Do you like a local day spa, salon, wellness center, or other spot for its wonderful massages, facials, mani/pedis, or other pampering treatments? For an upcoming article on good spa treatments, we’d love your nominations for the area’s best massage therapists, facialists, nail technicians, and more. Send an e-mail to spas@washingtonian.com by November 1. If you don’t know of anyone or any place in particular but you do have questions about visiting a day spa or about treatments which could be addressed in an article, please feel free to share those, as well.
