One of the best things about being in love with beauty products is getting to meet other people who find themselves oddly compelled to make or obsess about beauty products. One day while sitting in my lovely friend Teri's little slice of heaven known as
Spa Physiog, a small attractive dark haired woman popped her head in the door and introduced herself, as
Monique. Soon she told me how she used to have a normal job but eventually found herself obsessed, even called, to do massage and make her own products. (
She is currently compiling the most brilliant collection of massage products, soaps, and lip balms and has promised to let Beauty’s Spot readers be the first to know when her line nii-kii is on the market)This is the kind of creative preoccupation that fascinates me. Monique finds herself up all hours of the night inventing
new lip balm recipes like mad a French chef, unable to rest until perfection is reached. Indeed her
lip balm is the most perfect lip balm I have ever tried and now, unbelievably, I have a new favorite:
her massages. They are heavenly. For days afterwards I could only ponder the question, "Why are massages not an essential element on the list of human self care rituals? Massages like this need to be right up at the top with flossing and teeth brushing.”
Monique's exhale massage is deep and therapeutic. She is a petite woman and I worried (completely unnecessarily) that she wouldn’t be able to muster the strength I usually require from a good massage therapist. Luckily for me her unexpected strength could manipulate the muscles of a heavy weight prize fighter as if they belonged to a cherubic toddler. She used only her own products which are packed with aromatheraputic scents, but not greasy. I swear no grease. I went out with friends to Chinese later that night and I in no way resembled the greasy mess that usually leaves a massage therapist's office. Slowly but surely she kneaded away the tension in every single one of my body parts. I had so many favorite moments in this massage it is difficult to list them all. When she used her forearm to manually distance all the muscles which grab onto my spine (mostly out of habit and desperation) she physically reminded me what relaxation felt like. At this moment, I knew she was my new massage therapist. I have to admit during the last ten minutes of the massage I am not sure what happened, I went to that strange lovely place before sleep and after consciousness. Very few people have ever allowed me the love and care to reach that space in the prescence of another human being. Monique is gifted and I only hope you all get to experience her gifts. (
and she is right next to Spa Physiog!)
