Beauty Black Book

Ceron Salon
1180 Uptown Park Boulevard
713-892-8330
Price: $100 and up
Mexican-born, French-schooled Cerón is a master at taming coarse curls so that they behave in Houston’s humidity. His ability to craft gravity-defying party updos keeps his salon packed with locals. Cindy Crawford, Lauren Hutton and Ivana Trump have all stopped at this salon when they’ve been in town.

Trellis Spa
111 N. Post Oak Lane (at the Houstonian Hotel)
713-685-6790
Price: $35—$100
An appointment at this lavish 17,000-square-foot space is one of the best deals in town. Not only do you get a detailed cleaning but post-polish, you're invited to stick around and enjoy the hot tub, sauna and indoor pool—or just sit back and chill in the reading lounge, complete with a fireplace.

Fiori Spa
2613 Potomac Drive
713-244-0070
Price: $110—$170
With its exposed beams, stone walls, and sunny wine garden, an afternoon at this rustic-chic retreat feels a bit like escaping to a villa in Tuscany—minus the jet lag. Book the signature facial, which combines hydrating neroli and mandarin oils with firming plant extracts to say arrivederci to dull, drab complexions.

Spa at the Villa
1456 N. Delaware Street
317-916-8500
Price: $25—$65
The promise of three weeks with clean, shiny nails has devotees lined up outside this hand haven. The No-Chip manicure replaces traditional polish with a flexible, breathable gel (available in 83 shades) that resists nicks and peeling.

Spa Chakra in Conrad Hotel
50 W. Washington Street
317-524-2515
Price: $135—$265
Need ahead-to-toe fix? Indulge in the 90-minute Spa Facial. After a thorough pore cleansing, the aesthetician expertly tackles unruly brows, gives hands a softening paraffin treatment, and soothes tired feet with a reflexology massage.

Shine Spa
4143 Pennsylvania Avenue
816-531-8600
Price: $15—$70
Nestled amid the 19th century buildings in historic Westport, this unintimidating spa has a vast menu, including head-to-toe waxes. The staff is known for thoroughly sanitizing all tools and surfaces, which helps to explain the spa's spotless reputation.

Kim Vo Salon at The Mirage
3400 S. Las Vegas Boulevard
702-791-7474
Price: $75 and up
There’s no gambling at this hair-color mecca—for clients considering a major change, Vo provides a wig bar where they can sample the hues of the moment. After a thorough consultation, his staff handpaints customized color to create a flattering, natural look.

The Salon at Encore
3121 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
702-770-4772
Price: $35—$650
Sink into the plush velvet "throne" in this extravagant white-marble-and-gold spa, then choose the Hot Stone pedicure, which includes a Dead Sea mineral scrub to remove calluses, followed by a blissful calf and foot massage and polish.

Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
866-782-0655
Price: $180—$325"]
The staff at this Sin City oasis has more tricks up its sleeves than illusionist Criss Angel. To dislodge stubborn blemishes, a pure iron mask is applied then removed with a magnet that sucks out all the dirt; for a post-facial cooldown, you're invited to the Arctic Ice Room—a relaxation area where skin-soothing "snow" falls from the domed ceiling.

Andy LeCompte Salon
616 N. Almont Drive
310-273-4100
Price: $125 and up
The Hollywood hair vet (he’s been Madonna’s mane man for years) finally opened his own space—and he is currently filling it with some of the best color talent in the business. His newest recruit: the East Coast queen of bombshell blonde, Rita Hazan, who will be making monthly visits.

Sally Hershberger Los Angeles
760 N. La Cienega Boulevard
310-854-4922
Price: $150 and up; an appointment with Hershberger is $800
This minimalist penthouse, which Hershberger describes as a “futuristic bungalow,” attracts stars like Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Charlize Theron, who come for the rock and roll chops and sexy bed-head styling.

Rob|B
12246 Ventura Boulevard
818-980-7622
Price: $30—$85
Constructed completely with green materials (polished recycled concrete floors, salvaged-wood furniture), this newly opened OPI salon is designed to pamper your nails and the planet. Each of the polish stations is equipped with a flat-screen TV for your channel-surfing pleasure, and the outdoor rooftop patio offers a breath of fresh air as your nails dry.

Jessica Nail Clinic
8627 Sunset Boulevard
310-659-9292
Price: $20—$50
Since 1978 this bright art deco space has tended to the fingertips and toes of Hollywood royalty, from Lucille Ball to Demi Moore. Come for a coat of owner Jessica Vartoughian's signature polishes (below right) but know that the nail "cultivists" on staff are trained to treat serious problems, like peeling cuticles and chronic biting.

Cocktail Wax
333 N. LaCienega Boulevard
310-289-0166
Price: $10—$80
A stiff drink always helps to dull the pain of hair removal. At this boutique spa, you can sip martinis while choosing from 25 hydrating waxes imported from Paris. Your waxer can mix and match the sticky stuff (combining kiwi and honey, for example) and comfort post-treatment skin with a chocolate-scented mist.

Oribe Salon
1627 Euclid Avenue
305-538-8006
Price: $100 and up
Welcome to a South Beach hot spot that has all the glitz you’d expect from a stylist superstar. Oribe (pronounced OR -bay) has a staff trained to deliver glistening color and chic cuts that have a sex appeal befitting his sizzling location. Just ask client Jennifer Lopez.

Hair Healers
2626 SW 9th Street
305-643-2252
Price: $25 and up
Days in the sun and nights in clubs take their toll on hair in South Florida. With its long menu of resuscitating treatments, this no-frills salon is capable of restoring shine, smoothing frizz, and generally de-stressing strands.

Spa at Icon Brickell
465 Brickell Avenue
305-503-0369
Price: $45—$85
This 28,000-square-foot Philippe Starck-designed space features therapeutic pedicures that leave tired feet revived, varnished, and ready to hit the dance floor.

Glamour by JS
669 Lincoln Lane N.
305-672-7142
Price: $30—$80
The technicians here study hair patterns to ensure that removal is as comfortable as it can be. They coat each area only once with Brazilian pine wax to avoid irritation—if any strays are left, the expert will quickly pluck them with tweezers.

Tracie Martyn at Lapis, The Spa at Fontainebleau
4441 Collins Avenue
305-674-4772
Price: $75—$275
The skin-care maven responsible for enhancing Madonna's chiseled cheekbones and Brad Pitt's defined jawline is now offering her signature Resculpting Facial at the luxurious Miami Beach spa. Fans rave that after just one treatment, which uses mild electric currents to firm skin, they look five years younger.

Actaea Works Ltd.
2173 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue
414-962-9889
Price: $30—$75
A renovated Victorian house hides this surprisingly upbeat, modern spa, where a copper waterfall and abstract art decorate exposed-brick walls. Its services also seamlessly combine the old and the new: A technician hand-blends a variety of different waxes to suit each client's skin type as she relaxes on a state-of-the-art heated treatment table.

Accolades
2065 Randolph Avenue
(St. Paul, Minn.)
651-698-8818
Price: $79 and up
Go in for color, come out with what one client describes as a “full sensory experience” (mini facial, head and neck massage, and essential-oil foot bath). Rich brunet shades are among its specialties (think warm chocolate browns and burnished-gold and amber highlights).