pampering fit for royalty

i can splurge on clothes, shoes and bags in an impulse but when it comes to pampering myself - going to the spa, having a massage or doing my nails,  i make sure i go the best ones. for me, every penny should be worth it especially that most of the people consider this as a luxury. but when a very good friend  told me that the nail spa lounge by ellabell in megamall will be worth my time and effort, i decided to go last saturday.

i left makati an hour before my 3pm appointment to be sure that i will arrive on time. i didn't want to look harassed when i reach my destination and i didn't want to miss it since i was already forewarned that weekends are usually packed. lo and behold, when i arrived at exactly 3 o'clock, i came to see a pretty moulin rouge inspired nail spa lounge :)

  (i love the black/zebra print love seat. too bad i didn't get to take a pic of it upclose)

(the waiting area - you choose your nail polish while you wait) 

(this is the area where they do the quick nail polish changes)

i was warmly welcomed by the pretty owner and manager of the spa, shiela marie chua. i am telling you she's a darling! despite the heavy stream of clients going in and out of the spa, she made sure ingrid (the cute 3yr old kid who has happily drawing sun, flowers and a girl using shiela's colored pens and scratch papers while waiting for her mom) and i were comfortable. 

after a quick chit chat with shiela and playing with ingrid, i was asked to enter the "lounge" and this huge and comfy couch was waiting for me. sheila recommended that i try the "royalty foot spa pedicure" and i did! 

(they have a built-in sink on the floor)

i then soaked my feet on the warm soapy water and they started to feel relaxed after a couple of seconds. 

a few minutes after, michelle reached for my foot and started filing it! i had to muster courage not pull my leg from her or kick her. it was just ticklish! :)

(michelle got too shy. she didn't want me to take a pic of her)

( michelle is now preparing to exfoliate my legs. 

P.S. ignore the bruise on my right leg. i bumped into a table the night before :) )

janet (face not seen) on the other hand started scrubbing my arms with an exfoliating scrub. afterwhich, she put on a mask on both of my arms. 

i was told that the paraffin therapy will help absorb the excess water and "lamig" inside your arms and legs so i gave in to it. 

(after applying the paraffin wax, my arms were wrapped to seal the warmth in)

(the glove looked like an oversized baby mitten)

(before this, my legs were wrapped and had booties too)

after the exfoliation, masking, paraffin therapy and massaging came the cleaning, trimming and polishing of the the nails. 

among the wide array of colors and brands (opi, china glaze, essie...etc.) i got the essie morticia's nails in blood curdling red color.

(a tip i learned from them:  

don't cut your toe nails on the side 

coz it'll make the nails shorter and harder to grow

- a common mistake of the manicuristas in small parlors) 

 if you wish for more artsy nails, they also do nail art and here are some of my favorite designs:

since i had to wait for a couple of minutes more to dry off my nail polish, sheila and i chatted about the spa and her future plans. she told me that they'll be opening two more branches - one in robinson's place manila in september and in greenhills near conti's by october so better watch out for that. 

anyways, i know this is getting lengthy already (but i just can't help go into details) and so i say that the nail spa lounge by ellabell is worth your every penny, your time and effort. their royalty foot spa pedicure is so wonderful you would want to spend the rest of your day there. the people are nice and very efficient and the owner is such a sweetheart. 

whenever you feel like spoiling or rewarding your self after a week of hard work, better visit this place and you'll surely feel like a royalty! 

(now at EMT's booth with my pretty nails)

the nail spa lounge is located at the 5th floor of the atrium in megamall

they're open everyday (mall hours)

for inquiries and reservations - you may call 470-3790