Best of '09: Beauty & Fitness

This round-up celebrates only the best--check out everything that captured our attention this year

Beauty

Best seasonal beauty bargain
Jane Park’s Julep Nail Salons (Downtown, Gig Harbor, Bellevue and University area) combated this year’s seasonal—and economic—slumps by offering specials that embrace the glories of the season with gingerbread hand and feet scrub for winter, pumpkin cuticle oil in the fall and bright, punchy nail colors for summer. And the cheaper-than-usual price tags (manis, $18; pedis, $35) had us smiling year round.

Best place to get rubbed down with your clothes on
If you believe good massage requires exotic oils, a bamboo-fiber robe and ambient Enya music, look elsewhere. But if you’re up for a more, shall we say, adventurous sort of massage, you’ll want to try the ID’s Imperial Foot Massage (International District, 900 S Jackson St., #217; 206.903.0878). You want ambiance? How about a long row of red loungers, a wide-screen TV with no sound, a hugely diverse range of people, and the occasional, painful strains of a karaoke party from the restaurant across the hall. It’s not exactly serene, but walk-ins are de rigueur, the price is right ($15 for 30 minutes!), the foot rubs are intense, and it’s open ’til 11:30 p.m.

Best way to get your lymph in order
Beware the Jill Bucy Skincare Classic French Facial (Lower Queen Anne, MarQueen Hotel, 600 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.283.9295)! Once you experience this luxurious treatment at Lower Queen Anne’s chic boutique salon, all other facials will feel like a cold, wet washcloth. Sure, it has expert skin analysis, invigorating exfoliation and soothing masques, but what sets the salon head and shoulders above is the lymphatic massage (of nodes and neck)—especially as performed by aesthetician Erica—which is fantastically, hypnotically, fall-asleep-and-wake-yourself-up-snoring good.

Most Efficient Pedicure
Beauty and convenience go hand in foot at Hotel 1000’s Spaahh (Downtown, 1000 First Ave.; 206.957.1000), which is conveniently located just below Boka Kitchen + Bar. We love that you can power through a lunch of mussels and fries—all while your toes are polished to perfection.

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Fitness

Best place to find yourself dripping in sweat
Designed by award-winning local architecture firm Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen and opened last March, the bright, white, airy Urban Yoga Spa (Downtown, 1900 Fourth Ave.; 206.420.0222) immediately established itself as an oasis of calm (and, yes, sweat) in the middle of busy downtown. The power yoga classes are pleasingly tough—even more so with the temps cranked between 90 and 105 in the two sublime (and remarkably stink-free!) workout rooms. And if you still can’t get your chakras in order, you can traipse right upstairs for a perfect pedicure.

Best gym entryway
Is it an art gallery? Skate bowl? Fashion-show runway? The concave oak floor entryway to David Barton Gym at The Bravern in Bellevue is a little of each (though skateboards are probably frowned upon), but it’ll definitely get you pumped for your butt kicking.

By: Kate Calamusa, Brangien Davis, Karen Johnson, Deanna Duff, Rachel Hart, Allison Austin Scheff, Lei Ann Shiramizu and Virginia Smyth
With: Amelia Apfel, Madeline Boardman, Thea Chard, Amy Minor and Jacquie Perez