The Happiest of Happy Hours
manicures, pedicures & cocktails
Luxe Den Salon & Spa

Where can you can relax and enjoy a cocktail WHILE having your nails done? Don't bar hop at Happy Hour, hop into LUXE DEN instead!

I'm sick of crowded Manhattan bars at happy hour with lines at the bar for watered down drinks - what about that is happy or relaxing? Isn't that the purpose of happy hour - to be happy?

So instead of my usual happy hour bar hopping, I took a much needed detour. I stepped out of the New York City cold and bustle into the sunny Luxe Den Salon & Spa to cheer my grey disposition and spruce up my winter look. The main floor was elegant and relaxing, with lots of warm lighting, and space to breathe - finally, a place I wasn't shoved around and pressed up against a dozen other people! This was a welcome change from the diggs where I might normally spend my happy hour, fighting for a stool at the bar or even just for the bartender's attention to order a mediocre or overpriced drink.

I started off with a manicure and pedicure during Luxe Den's Happy Hour Mani Pedi Special, which runs from 4 pm - 8 pm daily. Sipping a complimentary chilled white wine, I relaxed in one of their cozy massage chairs on the private second floor. I set the massage to the pre-programmed setting (pure bliss) and let Elena, with her more than 10 years of experience, go to work on my tired feet.

She kicked off my sensory spa experience with Luxe Den's special Caribbean Pedicure. Along with the standard pedicure cutting, filing and skin smoothing, she applied a delicious salt scrub to my legs and feet followed by a warm and luxurious Aveda skin mask. Everything she applied smelled amazing. My favorite part, though, was the incredible leg and foot massage - the perfect chaser to a happy hour libation. Elena told me to "just enjoy!" And I did!

The wine, the massage, and the massage chair had me totally relaxed by the time she was meticulously painting my toenails with the cheery red polish that I had selected. Try getting a bartender in New York to paint your toenails while you are enjoying your drink - not gonna happen! She topped my toenails off with a. hand-painted heart on two of my toenails - one on each foot - and just in time for Valentine's Day!

Next I enjoyed a wonderful manicure, complete with an amazing hand massage and two heart adorned fingernails to finish it off as well. The hearts were also just in time for Luxe Den's one year anniversary, which also falls during Valentine's week. How appropriate because I loved spending happy hour relaxing and sipping wine with Luxe Den's manicure and pedicure special.

After my nails had been pampered, I headed downstairs past the cascading halogen chandelier for a special hair treatment. My stylist, George, surveyed my tousled tresses and determined immediately that the damage repair treatment was right for my color-treated hair. The hair treatment was another round of aromas to die for. While George gave me an incredible scalp scrub with the sumptuous smelling repair treatment, he told me to "just enjoy!" By the time I left the sink to get my trim, my hair was already feeling soft and moisturized, not to mention smelling amazing! George gave me an efficient trim, jazzed up my layers, and with more delicious products and gels, styled my curls back into manageable and bouncy shape.

Also noteworthy is Luxe Den's large selection of top line hair products - running wall to wall the entire length of the salon. You can choose products from Bumble and Bumble, Aveda, and even imported products from Paris by Kerastase. Luxe Den will give you a 10% discount on your retail purchase if you spend over $100 on products. (They also have gift certificates that make great gifts) Can you say SHOPPING?!?!

So …drinks, nails, massage, hair treatment & trim, room to relax & breathe AND SHOPPING?!?! I couldn't have asked for more from my happy hour. Belazza is my new hot spot for cocktails, nails and a suite of other pampering services. It's a great place where I can pop in after work for a drink to rejuvenate my cold weather blues and spruce up my tired look! Sidle up to the "Luxe Den Bar" with their wonderful "bartenders" Elena and George - they will tell you to "JUST ENJOY!" Now that's what I call happy hour!

Anne Catherine
Beauty Editor - www.spa-nyc.com 

Learn more about Luxe Den Spa & Salon

Tips for the Manicure & Pedicure Happy Hour at Luxe Den:
-Don't forget to ask about the complimentary Bumble and Bumble hair treatments.
-Remember if you are happy with this or any other spa service tip at least 15 - 20 %.
- Remember to tell them Spa-nyc.com sent you.