Moonflower Spa

In a city with a spa for every budget and need, it is still a treat to find a perfect match. In the case of Moonflower Spa, I found an ideal junction between quality, ambience, and price, for facials specifically.
This day spa is tucked inside a small 3^rd floor space on Library Way, aka 41^st Street, which directly faces the entrance of the New York Public Library’s main branch. Moonflower is Japanese owned and operated, and serves many Japanese clients, which informs the level of service provided. It is not high-​end; the rooms and common area are simply furnished, but avoids the cheap look that other spas retreat behind dim lighting to hide. The spare use of accents like pebble walkways, a quasi rock garden, sliding door panels, and rice paper art help.
Check-​in is quick, treatments are timely, service is courteous. The aestheticians are attentive, skilled, and unfailingly considerate.
The spa menu includes basic deep tissue and Swedish massages, and a body scrub. Although these are fine, their specialty are facials, and they offer over a dozen types catering to sensitive skin, anti-​aging, acne-​prone skin, for men or teens, targeting the back, and more. Of these, I’ve had their Signature ($ 85, 60 min) and Aromatherapy Renew Rose ($ 95, 60 min) facials, which both include deftly performed light extractions (which can be refused). The treatments are thorough and relaxing, with the least comfortable part, extractions, performed midway after a steam.
Prior to finding Moonflower, I’ve accompanied a friend with very sensitive skin to quite a few other spas, who invariably broke out after treatments that were supposed to avoid that. The Sensitive Skin ($ 105 for 75 min) facial at Moonflower ended the search for a facial she could tolerate. Even better, she recently switched to the Signature, and has had no reaction save the intended one.
I don’t doubt there are other spas in NYC that offer a great facial but for their price point, Moonflower offers a consistently terrific experience and sublime service, so I’ve yet to want to go elsewhere.

I can’t say enough good things about Moonflower. I’ve been here over 10 times and every time I leave I’m more than pleased with the aestheticians’ ability and hospitality. I’ve gone to other places to save a buck or two but I’m always disappointed and end up coming back to Moonflower for their exceptional service.
I don’t even request a specific person because every one here is excellent. Recently Sarah worked on my mess of a face and was so thorough and totally transformed my skin. Moonflower is a gem and I almost hesitate to encourage others to go but it really is a special place.

holy crapo! I think my face looks 5 years younger. I haven’t had a facial in a very long time because of horrendous experience when I was young due to horrible acne problems. My gf took me here and I was very leery about it because I have a sensitive facial skin that gets easily irritated with many different soaps and lotions out there. However this was not a problem because the product they use is exactly what I use at home — Dermalogica. I’ve very pleased that my face turned out to be great and youthful! I’m definitely going back again. The staff was very nice and very polite. A+++!

Love Yuko! I come here regularly for a glow facial and my skin looks great afterwards. Highly recommend

I was very happy with my facial as this was my first facial. I had Yuko and she was very friendly, knowledgeable, through and most important Gentle. The lady at the front desk was very nice too, i will definitely come again.

Thanks to Unilocal,I found Yuko. She is amazing and has been giving me my facials for a while now. The place is nice and calming and Yuko always manages to fit me in her schedule. I’ve had microdermabrasion and a glo facial, both feel fantastic on my skin. I rotate every month. Go during lunch time for the Glo facial. It’s cheaper.

I just love this spa! Also! They use my fave comedic Dermatologica. Their facials makes you glow and zero redness. Skin is sooo clean and youth sprinkles out of you hahaha

Heaven! I had my first experience here today and I am already plotting my next mental health day so I can get back there sooner rather than later. Moonflower is an affordable spa with expensive taste. I know a thing or two about state of mind, so I felt right at home. I booked a weekday facial and massage package deal and was really excited to spend an hour working on the two things I needed the most in my life.
My facial was fantastic. I booked a «Glow» facial and it did just that. It was so effective that Sarah, my aesthetician, squealed when she was finished. I loved her positive attitude throughout, and I especially enjoyed how proud she was of her work. Heck I was proud of her! My skin can be tricky to figure out. It can look ok, but you have to really look closely and dig deep (literally and figuratively) to get at what’s causing the dull cloudy look. I really appreciated how deeply and thoroughly she went with extractions. Sarah examined every inch of my face and didn’t overly focus on just the T-​zone. I was really impressed by how much she caught. She took her time and kept me informed just enough throughout so that I had an idea what was happening without ruining the relaxing vibe.
My deep tissue massage was definitely deep! Ikuro (I forgot to write her name down so I might be getting it wrong here, but I think that’s right or at least close) seemed sweet and unassuming at first until she started to work the daylights out of my legs and shoulders. My goodness that woman found knots in muscles I didn’t know existed. I loved it! I can take plenty of pressure and pain when it comes to massage and she was not afraid to go in. My consultation was quick but I still felt heard. She remained the professional though and did her work her way and I reaped the benefits, especially in my shoulder and calves. It was an hour of much needed relief.
While there may not be many frills in between arriving and departing, the services are fantastic and top notch. Truthfully, it made me realize how much I don’t care about all those frills at other spas because I was so happy to maximize the amount of time I was spending in the bed getting my skin and muscles worked on. Priorities!
I will most certainly be back to Moonflower. And I’ve already started passing the name along to friends and family looking for a new spa.

I went to Yuko as I read so many good reviews she was indeed amazing! The front desk lady was extremely helpful too. Yuko definitely knows a lot about skincare and I felt safe with her handling my deep pore facial. I normally only go to a dermatologist but I haven’t found a good dermo here so decided to try this place. My skin looks and feels good

Always a great experience! I’ve been going for two years now and I can honestly say that I will continue to go for as long as I need facials.
Everyone is beyond friendly and has great knowledge of the treatments needed for my skin! I also really appreciate that they never try to sell me a product or pressure me to come back when unnecessary. Extremely professional!
My main concern was acne and acne scarring! I’ve gotten the deep pore cleansing, microdermabrasion as well as the intensive acne facial with high frequency machine.
All highly recommended.

This was one of my first facial experiences. I had Sarah, she was really sweet and knowledgeable. I asked for a teen facial with extraction which is approximately 75 minutes. My skin was in bad condition so she did the extraction and skipped the scrub (which would have irritated my skin) The overall experience was great BUT it was not 75 minutes. Most likely 45 minutes. The price range is $ 90+ tax+ tip so I wish I got more of my money’s worth.

I’ve come here three times for their signature facial with three different therapists; and all three facials were great. The extractions were relatively painless and at the end of the facial you don’t leave with blotchy skin. The therapists are very professional, they don’t try to sell any add-​on services, and they explain what they are going to do during the facial, before they actually start (eg cleanse, massage, extractions etc). The spa itself is very clean, the ambiance very peaceful.

I’ve been coming here for the past 7 years, usually every (other) month for a deep pore facial. All the estheticians are very nice and very thorough however, I highly recommend Kumi. She’s gentle yet meticulous and always works magic on my skin! For the price and service, it doesn’t get any better in NYC.

I trust moonflower spa one hundred percent with my skin. I’ve been to so many aesthetician who have created more problems than solved. Moonflower has improved my skin tenfold. I can’t recommend enough.

Best. Facial. Ever.
No, really. Don’t even look at another place — this is where it’s at. Moonflower is clean, appropriately lit, quiet, and a great experience.
I got the deep pore cleansing facial and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yuko is great! Thorough, gentle, and always checking in to see how you are doing. I left there feeling relaxed and my face felt so much cleaner.
I’ll be back.

This place is wonderful. All of their specialists are real professionals and know their craft. Had both the deep pore and signature facials here as well as the hydrating facial and Swedish massage. All were top notch and the specialists are always very receptive to your needs and give you as much or as little information as you care to ask for. I really like that they don’t push products here like in many other salons and they take their time through the whole appointment without cutting corners. You get exactly what you ask for, not more, not less, unless you ask for additional services or products. They also have some nice afternoon specials, and packages if you use their services regularly. The place is always impeccably clean and beautifully decorated. I hope they stay in business for a long, long time.

I went here a few times when it first opened, and I liked it — enough to keep going back until I discovered Yin Beauty… it was nice, clean and I liked the layout. I also liked the fact they sold Dermologica products! However, last time I was in town and got a facial, I had kind of a crappy experience.
The facial itself gets 4 stars — nice, relaxing, she took her time and gave proper facial massage, head and shoulders… but the towel wrap/​robe she gave me made me break out into massive, proper hives!
I was so shocked — I had started to get itchy when I was lying there, but thought maybe a mosquito had got in the room… but by the end of the hour I was properly turning red! She was nice enough to try and put some calming cream on me, but by then I was too busy scratching the hell out of myself to notice.
I paid in a rush, pick up some benadryl and knocked myself out on it until the bumpy itchies went away. PS, I have only got hives before because of dust… so that thing must’ve had something fierce in it! If you’re not as sensitive as I am (though I didn’t think I was) then maybe it will be okay.
Shame too because she was a good facialist.

Chose this place after googling the best spas in Manhattan, and decided to get my first ever facial. Customer service was great starting with booking my appointment on the phone to the greeting when I walked in. She was expecting me and had the paperwork ready.
The woman who did my facial, Yuko, was very nice and explained everything. I enjoyed every step and the extractions were not that painful. My skin feels very soft now.
On my way out I booked a massage for a couple weeks from now– can’t wait!

I went here as a birthday treat for myself, and given the fantastic Unilocal reviews I read I expected it to be prefect. I should probably add that it was my first time ever at a spa as well. Since my main issue with this place came from a missed communication with the woman at the front desk, I’m going to start with the *good* part of my experience here.
I booked a 60 min Swedish massage and a 45 min «mini» facial-​both were AMAZING! I had to apologize to my therapist that day, because I fell asleep midway! That is how relaxing it was. She politely offered to hook my iPod up to play my own music, but as someone who has a laughable taste for lewd Top 40 hits and 2 Chainz, I declined. Every single bit of tension I had in my back was thoroughly smoothed out by the time I was done. My facial was equally great– my skin looked altogether brighter, super clean, and fresh-​and thank you to my facialist for the free samples!
Now, for the bad: I looked over the prices on the Moonflower Spa’s website so I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to be paying before I came in. However, when it came time for me to pay my bill for the day, the receipt listed a price a full $ 50 more than what I was expecting! Even including a generous tip for my therapist and facialist for the day, that makes no sense. I paid it anyway, figuring that maybe their price list online was just outdated. On my way out, though, the woman at the front desk called me and told me to come back because she’d accidentally over charged me. She then gave me back less than half of what she’d over charged me, claiming the rest was for «tip». Luckily I was super zen from just having experienced their excellent services, and kind of confused as to what an appropriate tip would be anyway, so I let it go.
In New York, if you haven’t had someone try to rip you off at least once you haven’t lived a full life. Thanks, Moonflower Spa, for adding yourselves to the list of skeevy cab drivers, sneaky waiters, and all the other unscrupulous characters residing in Midtown who’ve made my wallet that much lighter!

I came here for facials three months ago and overall had a good experience. The place was very calm and quiet. The person doing my facial spent some time asking me about any potential skin problems I wanted her to be aware of, anything I was looking for specifically in a facial that day, etc. So she definitely cared and wanted to make sure I got what I was looking for. Since it was my first time at Moonflower, she suggested I get a basic facial just to see how my skin would respond, but because I knew I was very clogged pore-​wise that day, I asked for a deep cleaning facial instead (it’s great to know that they didn’t just want to sell me on more expensive packages!).
The facial itself was very calming, and the extractions were surprisingly very gentle. She explained everything she was doing as she did it, so there were no surprises at all. In the end, though my face felt cleaner, I’m not completely certain that this ‘deep-​cleaning’ facial was any more cleansing than the basic facial I’ve had at another spa I’ve been to in Manhattan. Maybe I will check out other spas in the future to see if there is a difference, or maybe it’s just me in that facials don’t feel like they do much for my skin long-​term.