Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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FOOD/DRINK STYLIST IS SUZANNE LENZER. YOU EVEN BETTER the beauty menu INCORPORATING NATURE'S TASTIEST FOODS INTO THEIR BEAUTY ROUTINES. BY AMIEE WHITE BEAZLEY I t's not often I take a day to myself. Leaving my husband alone with two rambunctious boys as I'm pampered, sloughed, massaged, mended—is a rarity. But on a gorgeous fall day in Aspen, duty calls. As I pack my bag, my husband raises his brow and asks, "What kind of assignment is this?" Enough questions, I have a meeting with a massage table. Not too long after my escape, I'm pulling into the porte cachere at the St. Regis Aspen, where arguably the most decadent, dare I say, epic, body treatment is being offered at the resort's Remède Spa. THE ST. REGIS ASPEN'S NEW FARM-TO-MASSAGE TABLE SPA TREATMENT HAS ASPENITES The new Farm-to-Massage Table treatment is a one-of-a-kind wellness experience that brings the resort's farm-to-table philosophy into the well- ness world. The experience pairs spa treatments—in my case the complete works—salt scrub, paraffin treatment cleanse, massage, body butter application, and scalp and hair treatment— with a food-tasting menu that employs the same aromas, textures, and flavors. In short, the body is treated with the same ingredients the mouth discovers. For food lovers, it's akin to Nirvana. The new Farm-to- Massage Table treatment menu Escorted into to the ladies lounge, I quickly change into my robe. Shorter on time than originally planned, I bypass the steam room, whirlpool, and "con- fluence," a co-ed water element beautifully designed in local stone, and head straight to the spa waiting room. I spy dried fruits, nuts, and a selection of cook- ies. Though hunger calls, I'm anticipating the delights ahead and instead opt for a leechee coconut white tea from a line of skin-enhancing infusions by Tea Forte. I hold the mug close to my face, allowing myself to slow down, letting my skin absorb the steam. And as if on cue, Remède Spa Director Julie Oliff enters the room and introduces herself. "You are in for a real treat today," she says. Along with St. Regis Executive Chef Thomas Riordan, Oliff created the five- course treatment and tasting menu using the best ingredients from local growers. Everything that touches guests' lips or skin is of the purest origin. Next I'm introduced to world-class therapist Annabelle Golden, who gives a primer on the two-hour treatment. I choose the scents of both my salt scrub and post-massage body butter. Three scents (cucumber-mint, oat- meal, milk and honey, and Cabernet-neroli) are on the day's Savory Salt Glow Scrubs menu, each harvested from the Great Salt Lake and infused with grape-seed oil and fragrant essential oil. I pick the Cabernet-neroli. My therapist hand-mixes the customized salt scrub, and I choose lavender- vanilla body butter to pair with the post-massage dessert course. Julie then unveils the appetizer selections. While only one appetizer paired with your chosen scents is the norm, she allows me to sample them all: A Spanish Cabrales cheese, strong and flavorful, served on a miniature toast point with bitter orange marmalade, a chilled cucumber-mint consommé, served in a shot glass with freshly picked mint and cucumber "caviar" gar- nish, and finally a bite of coconut-poached Maine lobster, topped with a mango espuma—a cool, satisfying mix of meaty shellfish and soft, sweet pureed fruit. I sample one of each and am escorted to a large treatment room, swathed in bark tones and serene low light. First up, a 30-minute, exfoliating scrub. It's invigorating yet surprisingly relaxing, as Annabelle rhythmically works the salt onto my skin. I cringe at the thought of sun- screen, sweat-drenched biking clothes, and beauty products with which I've recently blighted my body. Under her work I'm molting, happily, and the light citrus fragrance of neroli fills the air. After the scrub I rinse in the shower. Back on the continued on page 132 130 ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM for hands and feet, eucalyptus