New AVEDA Lip Liner - IT WORKS!!

Here at Zanya Spa Salon, we are big fans of things that work.  Things that say they are going to perform some sort of magic and then deliver.  Lots of times, this isn't the case, but the new AVEDA Nourish-mint (tm) Lip Definer actually does what it claims.  Magic or not, we like it!

Ever put on that hot red lipstick that you like to wear when you're feeling sassy, and discover in an hour that it is no longer actually only on your lips?!?  Not the look your were going for.  This pencil prevents your red from feathering outward toward your nose and chin.  It actually works. 

The pencil itself is colorless.  This allows you to have a very natural look, or if you like a more defined lip line, you can simply use a colored liner on top.   It smooths and defines your lips with plant waxes to help extend the wear of your lip color, and provide a more even color distribution.  Essentially, it keeps the color where you put it for a much longer time.

And, being in the Nourish-Mint (tm) family of AVEDA cosmetics, it has that subtle minty-ness that we love.

Also wonderful is that it is formulated without parabens, carmine, talc or mineral oil, and the wood used for the pencil has the FSC logo indicating that it came from a well-managed forest.  Love AVEDA!

The pencil is available at Zanya Spa Salon for $20.  Come in and try it our at our makeup counter.  You'll be as impressed as we are, and have a permanently perfect pucker!

Zanya Restaurant Partner - Tortuga's Cocina

If you haven't been to 11 1/2 Church Street in Lambertville, NJ to dine at Tortuga's Cocina, you need to get that on your calendar, STAT.  Owner Erin Keyes has established a delightful haven for authentic, gourmet Mexican cuisine using the freshest local ingredients in traditional ways.  There is also an extensive offering of vegetarian and vegan dishes, so there is something for every palate.

Tortuga's Cocina Mural

Situated symbiotically behind Mitchell's Cafe, you can enjoy a delicious margherita or wine, beer or a mixed drink with your meal.  And, you have the option to dine indoors or outside on their beautifully adorned patio, complete with a full scale, hand painted mural.

Some of our Zanya Spa Salon menu favorites are the beef tacos, vegetarian flautas, huevos rancheros, and the ginormous California burrito and....super yum!...the chiles rellenos pabalnos: 2 fresh pablano peppers roasted and stuffed.  One with sweet pork and the other with melted cheese.  Each is then dipped in egg batter and baked in a mild sauce and covered in cheese.  Served with rice and beans.

Check out some of the reviews:

“Tortuga's is excellent! It is definitely the best restaurant in Lambertville. The food is consistently fantastic and the service is superb. I have never had a bad meal there and recommend them to anyone looking for a good place to eat in Lambertville. Their lunch specials are a great deal and they have lots of vegetarian and vegan options. They are close to the center of town and in the summer they have a great patio. If you're looking for a great meal that's not going to break your budget, Tortuga's is it!”

“Tortugas is a quaint little restaurant tucked in Lambertville. They have the best Mexican food in the area. The guacamole is made from scratch and it's the best I've ever had. I have never had a bad meal here.”

As our restaurant partner for May and June 2011, every client making a retail purchase at Zanya Spa Salon will receive a coupon for "Buy One Entree, Get the Second One Half Off".  In turn, patrons of Tortuga's Cocina will receive a coupon for $20 off any service at Zanya Spa Salon.

Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 5 to 10pm, with a lunch service beginning at noon on Saturday.  Sunday hours are noon to 9pm.  Reservations are recommended, so call 609-397-7272.  Enjoy!

Meet Jena Zegarski, Medical Esthetician

Cheerleader, SkinCare Junkie, Medical Esthetician and Speed Waxer....we'll get to her basement later.

Growing up in Trenton and attending Notre Dame High, Jena was the cheerleading Captain. That skill set has served her well throughout her career in esthetics. With energy abundant, Jena made a change in her life direction in 2004 when, instead of attending FIT for Fashion Merchandising as originally planned, she enrolled at Rizzieri AVEDA School. She met the love of her life earlier that year and decided to build a life and a future with Mike decidedly NOT in the bustle of NYC.

Jena was drawn to skin care as a professional calling because she enjoys helping people to look their best, have healthy skin and through that, feel great about themselves. At Rizzieri, Jena sped to the top of her class driven by her passion for the industry.

She began her professional esthetics career at Amber Spa in Pennington. While there, she trained, and trained, and then, when that was done, she trained some more under a European esthetician with 30 years experience. Her intense interest led her to a hands-on knowledge of many skincare brands including Obaji, Decleor, Dr. Gross, Nuxe, SkinCeuticals, Dr. Hauschka, Peter Thomas Roth, Bare Escentuals...and more. Another invaluable skill she acquired was speed waxing. I'll explain...

Speed Waxing is a waxing philosophy, shall we say,

that since waxing is not really a relaxing or even enjoyable
service per se, it should be fast. Jena is highly skilled
at providing high quality waxing at a faster pace.
(Brazilian fans REJOICE!) To facilitate this,
Jena spreads the wax thinner, over a larger surface area,
and removes it quickly with thin strips.
The results are flawless, pretty painless and FAST.

Jena came to Zanya Spa Salon in March of 2010. With her amazing enthusiasm and passion for all things skincare, Jena has worked with and trained under Dr. Espinoza to become a medical esthetician, performing medical grade chemical peels from SkinCeuticals and SkinMedica, microdermabrasion and dermaplaning. Along the way, Jena has also become a certified Xtreme Lash Technician.

Jena is a true cheerleader for Zanya Spa Salon and La Chele, and is forever seeking to educate her clients as well as herself on how to care for skin and make it healthy, glowing and beautiful.

Her wedding is going to be beautiful too, set for February 4th on a private island off the coast of Jamaica. She is persuing her favorite pastime in preparation for her nuptials: shopping. Her favorite dessert is “a good creme brulee”.  And the thing that most frightens Jena in her basement – snakes. You'll have to get more info on that from Jena directly..."Snake Charmer" is NOT in her bag of tricks.

Spring Cleaning, and for every season after that...

You use your makeup brushes nearly every day, but how often are you cleaning them? Think about that a second...you take such good care of you skin, why smear goodness-knows-what-sort of petri dish right into your skin every morning...dead skin cells, oils, pigment, bacteria, dust and dirt...omg??!!

There are several ways to clean your makeup brushes, and all are economical, effective and easy. Here's the dirt: (hee!)

Brushes should be cleaned once a week. I know that seems like a lot of work, but really it's about 5 minutes, after your initial cleaning, that is. If it's been a while or, *gulp* forever, the first time might take a little effort.

You can use many different things to clean your brushes. Dish soap is great for it's degreasing capabilities. Rubbing alcohol too, and it dries fast. Shampoo is another easy solution that is readily available, and lastly a facial toner is great because you can conveniently spritz it on.

Apply the cleaner of choice. Rub the soapy ones into the bristles with some water. With your blush and powder brushes, make sure you get all the way into the middle of the brush with the cleaner. Much residue hides in there and it may take a bit of time to really get the center penetrated. Then, once you've gotten all the bristles coated, lay a clean towel on the table and gently rub them back and forth along the towel fibers. You may be shocked by what is left behind!

Rinse with clean warm water (unless you are using alcohol, then just rinse with more alcohol). Now pick a clean patch of towel and rub them again. Did they leave any pigment behind? If so, do it again. Keep cleaning and rubbing and rinsing until they leave no trace.

Then air dry your brushes. If they have wooden handles and you've used water, try to dry them bristles down, or at least flat so the wood doesn't get too saturated. Over time this will deteriorate it.

The first time will be the hardest to get them clean. Then, if you do it every week afterward, it'll take no time at all because you'll only have a week's worth of oils and pigments built up in there.

Your newly cleaned brushes won't be picking up the blush quite the same way because they won't be sticky with residue, but that is a good thing! Think of all the breakouts you'll save yourself. It's 5 minutes to healthier skin. So worth the effort. Happy Spring Cleaning!

Your Question, Answered: Why am I waking up next to my hair? Hair Breakage 101

Everyone has some hairs shorter than the others. Maybe they are just growing in. Maybe they broke off. If you seem to have an unusual amount of shorter-than-you’d-like-them hairs, here are some possible causes and some definite remedies...

Breakage can occur from a wide range of stresses. Some more common ones are poor nutrition, heat styling, poor-quality shampoos and conditioners, chemical processes and mechanical means.

Make sure you eat a well-balanced diet rich in proteins and vitamins A, C, E and B3 among others. We’re not nutritionists, but we do hang around Big Bear Natural Market a lot!

If you are heat styling your hair every day with a blow drier, curling wand or flat iron –STOP! Too much heat will make your hair dried out and brittle. Consider letting your hair go an extra day or two between styling with heat. This is where a dry-shampoo like Big Sexy Hair will come in handy. Sprayed at the root, it will absorb excess oils that will weigh your hair down and make it look greasy. (BSH is available at ZSS for $18.)

Substandard shampoo can actually damage your hair by stripping it of all natural oils and completely drying it out, thus making it more likely to snap off. Make sure you are using high quality shampoo and conditioner like L’Oreal Absolute Repair Shampoo ($18), Conditioner ($21) and Masque ($28) or AVEDA Damage Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner ($24 each).

Also, you should strongly consider coming to Zanya Spa Salon for a deep conditioning treatment, such as a powerdose, once week. (Powerdose: $15. Buy a series of 6 and pay for 5.)This will help stop the damage cycle and even begin to repair damaged hair cuticles. Over time, your hair will become more resilient and regain its healthy shine and bounce.

Chemical processes can be killers in the wrong hands. If you are coloring your hair at home and you are seeing breakage, you may be doing it too frequently or allowing it to process for too long, especially if you are lightening your natural color. Professional color products have high-power conditioning agents built right in to actually improve the condition of your hair through the color process. Additionally, by having a Zanya professional do your color, you can be sure that your hair will not be over processed. Color services at Zanya Spa Salon start at just $40.

You may be breaking your hair off by brushing it too vigorously when it is wet. Your hair is vulnerable when wet and the chances of damaging it are greater just after the shower. Towel dry your hair and allow it to dry naturally a bit before you even put a comb too it. Then only use a wide toothed comb and gently work out any knots from the bottom of the hair up. Never yank or rip the comb through your hair. Every time you do this you are either breaking it off or pulling it out or both, and over time this will add up to a lot of damage.

And, if you own a metal brush for styling your hair, throw it out right now. Go ahead; we’ll wait ‘til you get back……..Good girl! We’re proud of you. That thing gets so hot when you are blowing your hair dry, that it weakens every hair it touches and, you guessed it - it frizzles them right the heck off.

Also be careful of ponytails using ponytail holders and elastic bands. Don’t wear a ponytail every day or every night before bed in the same spot on your head. This puts too much stress on the same hairs over and over again.

And, watch the purse strap, honey! If you have long hair and you wear your purse on your shoulder, be very careful to move all of your hair out of the way BEFORE you put that strap over your clavicle! If you yank it out after the strap is on it – breaking will occur – every time. Rae and Aileen have noticed this more times than they’d care to discuss on their clients’ otherwise stunning locks.

This of course is not a complete course syllabus to Hair Breakage 101, but it is a start. Feel free to speak with your stylist if you are noticing breakage and ask them what they would advise. They are, after all, coiffeuses extraordinaire!