Best of 2010: Beauty

Best place to get your hair done
Belly up to the (blow dry) bar at Swink Style Bar (Downtown, 611 Stewart St.; 206.682.7070; swinkstylebar.com), Natalie Angelillo and Jacquie Byrne’s modern and airy salon devoted to styling your ’do. A wash, blow dry and style of your choosing (we love the perfectly straight “Fifth Avenue” and the artfully curly “Girly & Tousled”) will have you perfectly coifed and out the door in 30 minutes for $30.

Best dressing-room perk
We’ve seen our share of luxe spa changing rooms, but it’s hard to resist the siren-like lure of the circular shower tucked into the Woodmark Hotel’s newly renovated Northwest Face Spa (Kirkland, 1200 Carillon Point; 425.803.9000; woodmark.com/spa). The 12 (count ’em) rotating, massaging heads mounted on the walls of the stall, along with the cascading overhead spout, provide such a euphoric freshening session, it’s tempting to go back for round two. And three.
 
Best excuse to book a baby-sitter
Prenatal massages are heavenly, but it seems new moms could especially use a dose of non-crying quiet time. Enter the Mommy Facial ($75) at Suite 300 Skin Care (Ballard, 5424 Ballard Ave. NW; 206.714.0136; suite300skincare.com), crafted for tired mamas. Owner Susan Grace’s popular one-hour treatment starts with a cleansing, scrub and peel to reinvigorate dry skin, followed by a jojoba oil scalp massage to promote new hair growth, a pressure-point massage of jaw and brow, and an aromatherapy massage for tension-prone shoulders and neck.

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2010 beauty Products we Love:

1. Best lotion for animal lovers: We’re not even sure what “vegan lotion” means exactly, but vegans and non-vegans alike will love Seattle-based Butter London’s new vegan, paraben-free Luxury perfume lotions ($10 at Butter London locations and butterlondon.com). We are especially into the unisex Master Luxury Lotion’s black tea scent, spicy and smoky with a hint of rugged manliness. Smooth and sexy vegetarians, unite!

2. Favorite new lotions and scrubs: We’ve been pretty vocal about our affinity for Sweet Beauty’s (sweetbeautyonline.com) organic beauty products locally made with Theo chocolate, but their new white cocoa butter products have caused gleeful shouting a la Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally. The tantalizing tangerine, zesty new mojito and lavender berry scrubs are hand-mixed into scent-tastic products.

3. Most dude-friendly grooming routine: The two-step routine of Redmond-based TowelDry (toweldrymen.com) is crafted with real men in mind: a shampoo for washing and a styling cream, gel or paste (depending on hair type). (See Desperate Housewives actor and fan James Denton’s perfectly tousled hair.) At Acme Barbershop (Capitol Hill, 103A Bellevue Ave. E; 206.709.2263; acmebarbershop.com).

Best of the Decade
Butter London
Red X
Lisa Power Salon
Haven
boutique salons/in-house beauty bars
natural nail polish
Derby
Gene Juarez signature services
Julep Nail Parlor
salon happy hours
threading
thermal hair straightening
rock-star stylists
Sweet Beauty
manscaping
The Wax Bar
vegan facials
The Spa Csaba
Valentine’s fades
brow tinting
man bangs
Vida Spa
Seven
soul patches
sugaring
neck beards
Mode Organic Salon