HEALTH/FITNESS

Below: To enhance her beauty for her

wedding day, Kelly Turner of New York

turns to makeup artist Marina Lagocha,

who applies Aura's exclusive line — La

Bella Donna mineral makeup.

Bottom: Diana Bradley awaits the finish-

ing touches to her nails from manicurist

Kelly Roberts. Bradley's son, Dylan, also

received a mini-manicure. "Kelly gives

the best French manicures," said Diana,

a West Bloomfield resident.

AHH

S 1=3

BY LINDA BACHRACK

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANGIE

A

hh — a morning at the spa.
The day spa phenomenon has
swept the country, and, with
stress levels at an all-time
high, harried women and men seem to be
searching for the feel-good panacea. A simple
back rub isn't quite doing it anymore.
Husband-and-wife team Neal and Vickie
Levey are celebrating the one-year anniver-
sary of their Aura Spa, Salon and Wellness
Center. The Farmington Hills hot spot sets
itself apart from the rest of the "spa" industry
by packaging together a wide array of services
in an atmosphere that makes guests feel so
much at home they tend to spend the day,
enjoying catered lunches served on fine china
in the private dining room.
The Leveys bring years of experience to
the salon industry. They owned and operated
Bellissima Hair Design and Bellissima Too
Salon in West Bloomfield for 28 years, estab-
lishing Neal as a renowned master stylist.
"We want Aura to be a one-stop, profession-
al and relaxing destination," says Neal, "a
place where you feel pampered as soon as you

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OCTOBER 2004 • PLATINUM

BAAN

walk in the door." In fact, the receptionists
offer steaming neck towels to clients awaiting
services.
Besides comprehensive salon services,
including collagen manicures and Japanese hot
stone pedicures, Aura offers wellness classes in
yoga, non-impact aerobics and kickboxing.
Vichy room treatments involve stimulating
body mud masques that cleanse and detoxify
and are subsequently rinsed away beneath
warm rain from a massaging Vichy shower.
Skin-care treatments run the gamut from skin
resurfacing to a menu of facials and PhotoActif
Infrared Therapy.
Massages are targeted to specific needs.
There's the Thai massage, the four-handed
Japanese hot-stone massage, the mother-to-be
massage and the stress-release massage.
But the two most talked about treatments
are the Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy and the
Hydrotherapy Jet Tub. "Ashiatsu really sets us
apart," says front-desk manager Ronda Jarbo.
"We're the only spa in Michigan to offer it."
Ashiatsu, developed by Buddhist monks, is

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