Serene European Day Spa

I have been to a lot of spas in my day, and decided to frequent this one today for a facial as they are registered on SpaFinder. The price list 60.00 for a glycolic facial. I arrive and the spa is not at the address (or suite) listed, she meets me in the parking lot and promptly has me wait 15 minutes (and I was on time to the minute). We talk about what I want in a facial, regular European facial with glycolic acid. She asks me to lay day WITHOUT taking off my shirt. I’m like. ummm no. Do you have a cover up. oh yes yes. She does the glycolic first — before even cleansing my face. When she wipes it off — COLD wipes (not even towels). Cleanses my face with VERY ROUGH swipes. Then we get to extractions. I put on my questionnaire that I have clogs pores. She starts working on my face and says, «Oh my God! You have so many BLACKHEADS! (caps for the loud voice she said it in). She said not once, not twice, but three times. Then she says, «Oh my God! You have such LARGE PORES!» Ok, I don’t go somewhere and pay money to be insulted. She then does the massage which was ok, and then she puts on the mask, without cleansing my face at all. She leaves for about 20 minutes! Comes back and wipes it off, again with the cold wipes. She used a hot towel once in the whole process. I get through, go to pay her and she says, «$ 150.00!» Well, there was no way I was going to pay that for the worst facial experience I have ever had in my life (and I have had many many facials — of course I would have with all the blackheads and large pores!). We settle on a different price, and I pull out my debit card — and she doesn’t take credit/​debit cards. Cash or checks — which of course she didn’t inform me. So I have to go to the ATM to get her cash. Needless to say, it was the opporsite of SERENE!

I have lived in San Diego for over 15 years and have tried out many day spas and aestheticians in the north county. Once you find a good aesthetician, it is like striking gold, those of you who have had the experience of getting your skin ripped off along with the hair or have walked out with Cholla eyebrows, know what I’m talking about. Especially, when that aesthetician is well-​educated on proper skin-​care and treating certain conditions.
I’ve had enough experience to be able to spot a rare gem when I see one. And Alexia at Serene European is one!
I found her through the salon I go to, Zen-​Bi and they recommended her. She has a very private location that is serene as the name implies and she is very friendly and personable. I’ve gone to her for brow and bikini waxing and she has a very pain-​free technique. I’ve never seen my brows look better, they are not too thin or too bushy, but she sculpts them into a very nice shape and arch. She is very thorough in the nether regions as well, but is quick at that too.
One added bonus was that we got to talking about skin care and she gave me plenty of samples of the skin care line she sells and I was so pleased with how my skin reacted to the products that I splurged and bought a kit at the next visit with an added discount that she gave me.
Overall, she is a very nice lady too, I never felt like I was being marketed to or rushed. She’s very flexible with setting appointments and I liked the privacy of the place.