A Time for Beauty Take it EZ By Elgin Zulueta As in love, friendship requires rekindling. Having graduated from doing an "all girls night out", my girlfriends and I decided to do an "all girls spa day". We had reservations at Glen Ivy Valencia two weeks in advance and have been emailing each other back and forth anxiously waiting for the grand spa day to arrive! Prior to the awaited day, I was so excited about having my massage and my body polished during the weekend I could not think of anything else. I was really fired up not only because of the pampering that my body will get but also because it will be a special day for sharing stories, laughing, and feeling good and beautiful. We had a great time chit chatting, joking, and animatedly exchanging repartees on our way to Glen Ivy. Upon arrival at the spa, we were given the usual accommodations. Then we were given our bathrobes and slippers as we waited at the small lounge for our masseuse. I recommend doing their Replenish full body Swedish massage using the signature scent Olive and doing the Acorn Honey Almond Body Polish after. This body scrub exfoliates and quickly smoothes away dry skin leaving you with a radiant glow. My friend, Mitch, who is on her fifth month of pregnancy, loved the Rejoice Maternity. This massage is designed to diminish lower back pain, reduce water retention, and improve circulation for mothers to be. It also includes a warm foot wrap. Being a spa junkie, I cannot wait to try their Renew – Olive Sage body wrap. It is an invigorating sugar scrub followed by the application of a creamy olive, avocado, and sage balm massaged all over your body, which will leave your skin smooth and silky. I have read in their website that they also offer their signature Glen Ivy Classic Manicure and Pedicure, better known as their facial for the hands and feet. Glen Ivy provides excellent massages and wonderful skin and body therapies. They even introduced their own line of body care products and their Signature 7 product line, which are lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, olive, sage, orange, and lime all being utilized in all their spas. Scents never fail to lift my spirits as they have the power to turn emotions. These signature scents are made from the finest natural ingredients that can give you a much-needed "high". I personally like the scent of lavender as it calms and relaxes my ever tense, stressed out body while olive is a great natural moisturizer for the skin. After a great day at the spa, cooking being one of our favorite rituals, our friend Tina cooked chicken pastel and I cooked my famous beef stroganoff and made sangria to match! We all realized that it is not about pampering yourself anymore, but all about taking care of 'you' and finding the time to relax. It is not even about being vain. We need to take care of our skin, eat healthy, and enhance our God-given assets. We sometimes need to be reminded to slow down and take the time to be beautiful and to take time to find beauty in the things that we encounter each day. As I look back on my teenage years, I realized that it was my mother who guided me toward this beauty ritual. She would always remind me to look beautiful and smell good all the time. She trained me to always look presentable when I go out. She insisted that I will never know whom I will bump into when I am out and that first impressions last—without the first, there won't be a second or a third impression at all! When you feel good about yourself, you view and acknowledge how beautiful life is. As what the English preacher Leslie said, "Keep a place in life for beauty." Beauty feeds our soul just like how food nourishes our body. And just like with life, our body also needs a fresh start once in awhile and that light headedness feeling is a luxury nowadays especially with the busy lifestyle here in the US Enhanced by the ambience at Glen Ivy, we were able to bond and talk about the humorous and twittery events of the week enabling us to get to know each other even better and find time for relaxation and beauty. It was truly a very memorable and stress free day! Have a great day and take it EZ! *Special thanks to my masseuse, Krista. We are already booked for our next all girls spa day in June at Glen Ivy in Brea. Please visit their website at www.glenivy.com or you may call 1.888.glenivy